Kissing Strangers
by McFlygirly09
Summary: One night is all it takes. One night changed her world, forever. She had been so sure of who she wanted. Now it was all up in the air, and one wrong move could ruin everything.
1. Chapter 1

**So, this is my very first story written on ! I've written for other sites before but never this one, so I thought I'd give it a go! Please let me know what you think, I love reviews! I'm not really fond of the first few chapters, but I promise it'll get better! Enjoy!**

Chapter 1

"There is no way in HELL I'm wearing that, Carrie!" I exclaimed to my best friend. "Oh, Em you will look so gorgeous in it, though!" she wined. I rolled my eyes. "No." I folded my arms across my chest stubbornly. She put on her best puppy dog look. "Please?" she asked sweetly, looking at me from underneath her long eyelashes. I rolled my eyes again and huffed. "Fine!" I said, throwing my hands up. She clapped her hands excitedly. "Yay! Now, we must get you dressed!" I groaned, but she looked so happy that I couldn't bear to hurt her feelings, and grudgingly decided to go along with her plans.

45 minutes later, I've suffered hair and makeup treatment and now I'm being stuffed into a very renaissance type dress. "Is this really necessary?" I huff again for the millionth time. Carrie rolled her eyes at me through the mirror. "Yes it is!" I scowled. "There was nothing wrong with the dress I had," I retorted. "Except that it is winter, and it was a summer dress, and is not nearly dressy enough for a Masquerade Ball!" she snapped back. I folded my arms over my chest and looked away from her. "Ah, don't do that, I'm trying to lace your corset!" I giggled slightly at her frustration and how, living in the modern times, she was trying to put me in a corset. I let my arms hang limply by my sides. "Fine, then, have it your way," I said sweetly. She glanced at me through the mirror. "I know you're being a sarcastic arse right now, but thank you anyway," she said, a small smirk on her lips.

We were silent for a few moments as she continued to fiddle with my dress. "Carrie?" I asked timidly. "Mhmm?" I hesitated. "How am I going to pay you back for this dress? You know I can't afford it…" my voice trailed off as the tears I'd been holding in threated to ruin my perfect makeup. She stopped fiddling and turned me around to look at her properly. "Is that what all this has been about?" she asked softly. I nodded, not able to look her in the eyes. "Oh, Emma, you should know better! I would never let you pay me back!" I started to protest but she continued over my voice. "Besides, I got it in the costume department at the shop, so no worries." She winked at me. "I should've known!" I gasped (the corset was now completely laced and took my breath away a moment). "Well, I did ask this time, and Lisa said it was perfectly alright. I borrowed the one I'm wearing as well. They used them for the production of _Phantom_ a couple years ago, and they were in perfect condition still."

Carrie worked for a theatre company, and often borrowed their amazing clothes and costumes (but she usually didn't tell anyone). She had invited me to go to a party with her and her brother. I was still slightly nervous. I absolutely adored Tom, but in all of the years that I had known the Fletchers, I'd never met or even seen Tom's band mates. Carrie had invited me loads of times to their shows, but I was always either out of money, or it was too far away, or my parents wouldn't let me, etc. etc. Even when they had come to us, I was always gone or some other thing was happening. It never seemed that I could ever be at the same place as them at the same time. Tonight was the first time I'd get to meet them, and Carrie had told me that they were all extremely fit. I only had eyes for Tom, though, unbeknownst to Carrie. I never wanted her to get offended or anything that I had a crush on him. Plus, she was my flat mate, and the best friend anyone could ever have. We had been girlies for years, and I wouldn't dream of ruining that over her brother, who had no feelings for me anyway.

"Ok!" she said excitedly, breaking into my silent reverie. "Time to look at yourself Don't peek yet!" She grabbed my shoulders and slowly pulled me over to where her gigantic full length mirror was. "Ok, open your eyes now!" I hesitated, then slowly opened my eyes to look at myself.

All I could do was gape.

The dress was a gorgeous, deep burgundy color with cascading ruffles. It had off the shoulder sleeves with a sweetheart (slightly more plunging than I would like) neckline. The bodice wrapped seductively around me, the dropped waist enhancing my curves. That is where everything got interesting. The very front of the dress cut off a few inches before my knees, the satin ruffles of the skirt going longer into the back. It was complicated looking. All of the trim and the embroidery was black with gold etched into it, and taffeta pieces were everywhere, all in black. There was a small black and gold brooch in the middle of the sweetheart neckline. It was a beautiful dress, and I'd never seen anything like it.

I finally took my eyes off of the dress to look at the rest of myself. My unruly, wavy dark hair was elegantly swept up to the right side of my head in a half up, half down creation of Carrie's. It was entwined with fake bits of dark red and gold hair pieces. I loved it.

"Oh Carrie!" I gushed. "It's gorgeous! Thank you!" She hugged my shoulders with one arm so she wouldn't ruin her hard work. "No problem! And by the way, **you're **what makes this dress so beautiful. Nobody will be able to keep their eyes off of you!" My stomach flipped, and all I could think about was what Tom would think when he saw me. I was no wallflower tonight. I appraised myself in the mirror again, really looking at myself. I was a beautiful, dark haired, tanned skin beauty. Nobody could deny that tonight.

"One more thing!" she said, practically singing with joy. "Your mask!" I went to take it from her hand but she stopped me. "Uh, no. I will put it on or else it will be messed up." I scowled. "Now don't do that! You're making your beauty fade away!" I swatted her arm as she giggled. "Ok, seriously, sit still, or your hair will come apart." I stood as still as I could as she fastened the mask on. She gasped. "Oh, you are perfect now, Emma. Come look." I once again turned and was once again stunned. The mask was all burgundy with black lace covering and trimming it. The right side of the mask had various satin and lace bows together with gold and black beads hanging from it. A single black feather streaked with gold shot up from it. I couldn't even recognize myself behind it. Carrie had fixed my hair to go perfectly with the mask. How she does this stuff I'll never know.

She clapped her hands. "Yay! You are perfect! I'll be ready in a jiffy! Tom will be here in about 20 minutes!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Carrie's dress was much simpler than mine. It was a dark, satin purple ball gown with black chiffon in the back of it. The gown itself was slightly voluptuous (not that mine was so small either) and had a black and purple corset that haltered at the neck. She looked gorgeous and sexy in it. Her mask was the same color as her dress, completely made out of metal and etched into a delicate design. "Won't that hurt your face?" I asked suspiciously. She laughed. "No, it has padding in it, and they're designed to be safe." I shrugged. "Whatever you say. By the way, have you seen my stiletto boots?" Her grin faded. "Um, no," she said, her voice slightly higher. "Why do you ask?" I quirked an eyebrow. "Because I was going to wear them?" Her expression turned to shock. "With that dress?!" "Um, yes. I don't have anything else to go with this." Once again her expression changed. This time it was guilt. "Well, don't be mad or anything, but…" I cut her off. "You didn't!" She held up her hands. "I'm sorry! I just had to! I knew you didn't have anything and they were so perfect for the dress!" Her voice faltered slightly as she saw my expression. "You know, even though I know you're really very angry right now, you still look amazing," she said timidly. My lips twitched as I tried not to smile. She took that as encouragement. "Ok, I know you hate it when I buy you stuff, but please take these!" she begged. I groaned. "No, Carrie! They probably cost loads!" She shook her head vigorously. "No, they were on sale! Please please please?" I huffed again. She sauntered off to her room quickly as I hesitated. "Ok, here they are!" In her hands was a pair of black lacy heels. They reminded me of Cinderella's shoes for some reason. You could completely see through them, as they were completely covered in sheer lace. The laced ruffed up at the back of the shoe and fell in ribbons by the heel. They were gorgeous. "Put them on, please," Carrie said sweetly. I looked at her disdainfully. "Oh, you know you want them," she goaded. I reluctantly took the shoes from her and slipped them on.

They fit perfectly. They looked so very delicate, but they could hold their own. The lace around my foot was scalloped and made my feet look very elegant. I'd never loved a pair of shoes so much.

"Wow. Thanks Carrie. I really do love them." She glowed. "But I'm paying you back this time!" She waved me off. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, Tom should be here any moment…" she paused. "Wait. I think he's here now." I listened intently, but heard nothing. "No, I don't think he-" I was cut off as the sound of knocking filled the flat. She beamed at me again. "See? Told ya!" I shook my head. "How do you two always do that?"


	3. Chapter 3

**So...I was going to wait for reviews and such before I posted anymore chapters (I already have 8 written!) but I couldn't wait, and the last one was really short and lame, so here you go! No more until I get at least ONE review :)**

Chapter 3

Tom's POV

I walked into my little sister's flat, expecting her and Emma to be running late, as was per usual. To my immediate surprise, they were both ready. Or at least Carrie was. "Hey bumface, wait just a moment. Emma is getting her shoes on." I looked at her for a moment. "You look very nice, sister of mine." She grinned. "You look quite dashing yourself, oh brother of mine!" I laughed. "Thanks. I'm excited and a bit nervous really." She giggled. "Oh, I think it'll be a fairytale night!" I grinned at her. "Why aren't you wearing your mask?" she asked me. I shrugged. "I didn't want to put it on until we got there."

I finally heard the click from Emma's heels coming from down the hall. "Ah, there she is," Carrie said excitedly. My heart started to beat faster, but I tried not to show it. I'd had a crush on Carrie's friend for ages. I looked away, not wanting to see how gorgeous I knew she had to look, for I knew it would make my heart probably stop. "Oh, Tom, you must look at her! She is absolutely stunning!" I forced my head up and immediately regretted it. She was just coming into view, her long dress trailing behind her. If I didn't know her already, I would've never recognized her. She was stunning all right. There didn't seem to be enough words to describe her. The dress looked like it was made for her, and hugged her curvy body in the best ways. "Oh," I breathed before I could catch myself. I cleared my throat many times. "Um, yeah. Um wow. Wow, um, Emma, you look quite nice." I inwardly cringed. _Way to go idiot._

Did she blush? I couldn't be sure, as the mask covered most of her face. "Thank you very much, Tom," she said, her voice breathy. It took all I had to stop staring at her. "You look very, um, dashing tonight," she said sweetly.

It was amazing how she could say the same thing my sister said and turn it into something completely wonderful. "Erm, thanks," I said awkwardly. Carrie stood by, looking between the both of us for a moment. "Ok, well that was extremely weird. Time to go!" I let her and Emma walk out before me, unable to look either of them in the eye.

As we walked outside, I remembered my surprise for Carrie and grinned. Before I could say anything, she had discovered it. "Oh, TOM! Thank you!" I laughed, knowing she was going to love it. "No problem sis. I knew your theatrical side would get the better of you." She put her hands on her hips. "Meaning what, exactly?" I laughed again. "Meaning I knew you'd need a bigger car to fit yours and Emma's dresses in!" I said, opening the door of the SUV limo I'd rented.

"Are we picking up the guys?" Carrie asked after we were all in the car. "No, actually, it is just for us. Dan and Doug are riding together, while Harry and Iz are driving separately as well." Carrie clapped her hands. "Oh, yay! I'm so excited, Tom! I think this has to be the best party yet!" I laughed. "We haven't even got there yet, Care, so how could you possibly know that?" She shrugged. "I just have a feeling it's going to be a wonderful night," she said dreamily, looking out of the window as we pulled away from her neighborhood.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ok, I'm sorry this one is short as well, but there other ones are pretty long! This one is basically a filler, sorry :( No reviews yet, but I'll keep hoping :))) thank you lovely readers!**

Chapter 4

Emma's POV

I listened for a moment as Carrie let Tom in. . "You look very nice, sister of mine." I heard him say and her reply a moment later. I took a final look at myself in the mirror in my completed ensemble.

I had never felt so completely beautiful. I looked _amazing _in this dress. It felt like anything could happen tonight. Maybe even a kiss with Tom….

I reluctantly dragged myself out of my daydreaming to meet them in the front hall. . "Ah, there she is," I heard Carrie say excitedly. My heart started to hammer in my chest as I made it out to them. I couldn't wait to see his expression.

His face wasn't covered like I thought it would be, and I saw he wasn't looking at me. My heart sank. "Oh, Tom, you must look at her! She is absolutely stunning!" Carrie whispered. I looked right at him to read his face. I was very sure I was dreaming, as I saw him gasp and I am almost definitely sure he said "oh," softly. He stood there, staring at me silently for a moment before he finally said anything. "Um, yeah. Um wow. Wow, um, Emma, you look quite nice." He turned a violent shade of red.

Could it be that he was flustered by me? Why was his face so red? He couldn't possibly like me back…?

Not possible.

He was just flustered because I looked amazing for the first time in my life.

That had to be it.

Right?

I tried to stop my heart from leaping into my throat. I couldn't ever let myself think there was anything there, for there never was and never would be.

I blushed as I said "Thank you very much Tom." I heard the stiffness in my voice and hoped he didn't as well. "You look very, um, dashing tonight" I said quickly before I ever realized what was coming out of my mouth. And he really did.

His tux was simple, black, but his vest said otherwise. It had a slightly different shade of purple than Carrie's dress pinstriped in it, with a bright purple tie and handkerchief in the pocket. The vest fit him snugly and showed his very fit body. I was breathless.

As he thanked me stiffly, I saw Carrie look between the both of us.

I was quick to avoid her gaze.

"Ok, well that was extremely weird. Time to go!" she said swiftly.

Tom opened the door for us, and I was careful not to look at him as I passed.

I saw the huge limo before us and grinned, as I knew Carrie would love it.

I heard her delighted squeal less than a millisecond later.

As I listened to their playful sibling banter, giggling occasionally, I wondered again what tonight would bring.

We were leaving as I heard Carrie say dreamily, "I have a feeling it's going to be a wonderful night."

I had a feeling it would be too.


	5. Chapter 5

**Alrighty! I generally like this one, this is where it is starting to get a little more interesting...Another McFly guy makes an appearance :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: (I keep forgetting to put these) I do NOT own McFly, Carrie, Izzy, or anyone that is intimately connected with them, unfortunately. I DO own Emma and this story. **

Chapter 5

We arrived about a half hour later at the grandest place I had ever laid eyes upon. The exterior alone stunned me and I hadn't even been inside yet! The outside read "Grande Palace Theatre" in gold lettering. I had heard of it before in passing. They held all sorts of fancy outings here.

There were five tall pillars in the front, and the grand double doors were gold like the lettering. Doormen in black and white masks and puffy-pant costumes were at every entrance. There were even valets everywhere in costumes, with the same white masks and different colored costumes.

All sorts of glamorous people were exiting fancy cars and limos like ours. It was amazing, looking at all of the different masks and people. "Look there, Carrie!" I pointed. "That man's mask has a very large beak on it!" We both giggled. Tom pointed at another. "Over there to the right, do you see that woman? Completely dressed in feathers!" We all laughed and made our way out of the limo very slowly (both Carrie and I had a bit of trouble). When I looked back at him, Tom finally had his mask on. I could see maybe the real reason why he hadn't put it on earlier. While it was quite manly in its form, it had the same pinstriped design as his vest, purple and all. I still thought he looked rather dashing.

Tom proffered both of his elbows to Carrie and I. I shyly took his left side while Carrie happily took his right. We marched inside the Grande Palace Theatre, and the butterflies in my belly felt like they would explode right out of me.

Inside was even more gorgeous than outside. Everything was decorated in black, gold, white, and silver. 'Happy New Year' signs were hung up everywhere. In all of the excitement, I had briefly forgotten this was in fact New Year's Eve. Crystal chandeliers, draped with black and white fabrics, cast an almost enchanting glow on everything. It was breathtaking. There were professional dancers in masks, waiters in masks, everyone in a mask. It was impossible to recognize anyone, especially as I knew this was a posh celebrity party. Carrie seemed to have the same thought as soon as I did. "Where is everyone else?" she asked Tom. "Uh…" he looked around, "erm…" he cleared his throat. "Well, I'm not quite sure actually," he giggled. "You mean you guys didn't plan to meet anywhere?" Carrie demanded. Tom shook his head. "Are you kidding, Care? We're a bunch of guys. Really, usually I guess I _am_ the one to think of things like that, but I had a lot on my mind…" he trailed off.

Carried eyed him for a moment, searching for I don't know what. "Right," she said abruptly. "Well, we should try to see if we can spot any familiar faces." At this point, some people were going as far as to lift up their masks to try to recognize anyone or be recognized. Harry and Izzy were two of these people. I'd never have known it was them, obviously, as I'd never met them before, but Izzy instantly recognized Carrie's signature curly locks and purple dress and deduced Tom and I as the people next to her. She and Harry began maniacally waving to us. I noticed with a small swoop in my belly that Harry was in fact very attractive as Carrie had told me. Dark brown hair gelled neatly to the tip and striking blue eyes. He was actually beautiful more than anything. Everything about him was sharp angles and structure. He reminded me of Michelangelo's _David. _

Izzy was tall, blonde, and gorgeous. Her amazing body was wrapped in a tight midnight blue evening gown with spaghetti straps. The mask on her head was blue and silver. The pair of them made their way to us, slowly parting through the crowd. They looked like they were made for each other. It was sweet.

Carrie gleefully held her arms out to Izzy as they finally reached us. They embraced each other while Tom and Harry grasped each other's arms. I saw Harry eye me curiously. Carrie suddenly grabbed my arm. "Harry, Izzy, I'd love you to meet my dearest friend Emma." Izzy instantly took me in her arms, kissing both of my cheeks. I blushed but returned the gesture. I turned to Harry next, who also embraced me and pecked me on the cheek. "Finally able to meet the famous Emma!" he said with a small chuckle, holding me at arm's length. I blushed, grateful that nobody could see it under my mask. I nodded. "Sorry about that," I apologized sheepishly. "I've always meant to meet you all much sooner." He waved me off. "Don't worry about it. It is nice to finally put a face to the name though," he said, and I could tell he still burned with curiosity. I had no idea why. Suddenly, he reached out, and before I could figure out what was going on, Carrie slapped his hand. "Don't you dare, Judd!" she said laughing. "You'll see her face soon enough, but it took me way too long to get that mask perfect. If you take it off now you'll ruin everything I worked hard for!" We all laughed and Harry lowered his hand. "Apologies," he said to me, grinning. I giggled. "No problem."

Tom looked around, his mask on top of his head. "Hey, you guys haven't spotted Dougie or Danny yet, have you?" he asked Izzy and Harry. They both shook their heads. Tom ran a hand over his face. "Damn. I really should have set something up," he said softly. "Hey," I touched his arm, surprising myself and him as well I supposed. As much as we had been around each other throughout the years, we could still be very awkward with each other most of the time. Tonight felt different, though. Something was going to happen tonight. Something big.

"We're going to find them," I told him with a smile. "Just try to have fun! This is a party after all." He smiled at me. "You're right." He turned to the others. "Should we find our table then?"


	6. Chapter 6

**I won't say much, but I am anxious to hear what you think of this one...Enjoy :)**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own McFly, Carrie, Izzy, or anyone intimately connected with them, unfortunately. I DO own Emma and this story.**

Chapter 6

After three glasses of wonderful tasting champagne, I was starting to feel it. Everyone was having an amazing time, despite still not having found Dougie and Danny yet. I could tell Tom was worried about them. He kept checking his phone for any returned texts. I think he had sent at least a hundred between the two boys. I tapped his shoulder, feeling very bold indeed.

He turned to me, surprised. I suddenly realized the table had quieted down. I tried not to pay attention as I looked at Tom. "Wanna dance?" He blinked rapidly. I raised an eyebrow, not sure if he could see it. "Yes, of course," he said, and grabbed my hand. Carrie got up quickly to let us out of the rounded booth we were all seated in. I could tell she was reining in a huge smile. I wasn't sure why. Harry whooped suddenly and Izzy giggled. I looked behind me with a curious smile on my face, suddenly so giddy, but Tom surprisingly pulled me very quickly out onto the dance floor.

The champagne had made him bold too. He took one of my hands in his, and put the other lightly on my waist, blushing wildly. I felt my pulse quicken. My hand felt so nice in his. I put the other on his shoulder, and unless I was quite mistaken, I felt him shiver. I briefly looked around us, and saw how many people were dancing in this traditional way. The DJ was playing all kinds of songs, classical, modern, adding his own beats and mixes intermittently. It was really cool. I shyly looked up at Tom, who grinned down at me and twirled me around in his arms.

We danced for what felt like hours. When I looked at my phone, I was surprised to see it was only 9:30. Tom stepped away from me for a moment as I took off my black satin elbow length gloves. He was sweating.

He grinned at me. "Wow. I'm knackered. Can I get you a drink?" I saw a twinkle in his eyes as he looked at me, and I was positive in that moment that he did in fact like me back. "Yes please," I said shyly. He suddenly put both of his hands around my waist again and kissed my cheek briefly. I was quite sure my heart stopped beating. "I'll be back," he whispered. He squeezed my hand then walked away.

Whew! I had to fan myself. I couldn't believe this was happening. Everything was going so wonderful tonight so far. I wondered briefly if I should go back to the table or wait for him here. I looked around me. Everyone was dancing, some still in the traditional way, others in their own crazy style. Tom and I had ditched the traditional dancing after a while, doing our own thing. I smiled, thinking of him.

Someone tapped my shoulder.

I turned around, still smiling, thinking it was Tom back with our drinks already. It wasn't.

It was a man. A handsome man, I think, but I couldn't be too sure as the majority of his face was covered by a black and gold mask. He looked smart in his black tux, black shirt and vest with a gold tie. I notice his vest also had stripes of gold in it, kind of like Tom's with the purple. I looked up at him expectantly. He cleared his throat.

"Hello," he said politely, and I could detect his Northern accent. There was something I felt instantly in that moment, but I couldn't be sure what it was. "Hi," I said cautiously. I paused for him to continue. "Well, I saw you standing there, and I thought you were much too beautiful a girl to be without a dance partner. I was hoping you would honor me with a dance." He smiled at me, and I could sense no secrets behind it. I looked into his blue eyes, and they were full of liquid warmth. I felt a quiver deep in the pit of my stomach. "W-well," I stammered, "I'm kind of with someone…." I trailed off as I looked over my shoulder, searching for Tom. "That doesn't sound too committed," the man said, smirking. I blushed. "Well, we're not exactly together, but-" he cut me off. "But you want to be?" he asked. I hesitated, blushing some more, noting that the amount of champagne I'd had didn't help matters. Of course I wanted to be with Tom. So much. But this was also my night for things to happen…with Tom. Crap.

"Well, kind of," I admitted sheepishly. What happened to all my champagne braveness?

The man nodded. "Of course. The most beautiful girl in the room is taken, or wants to be. Sheesh." He ran a hand over his short hair. Me? The most beautiful? Well that was really…flattering. I looked up at him again and the power of his piercing blue eyes was overwhelming. "Are you sure I can't have just one dance?" he asked sensually, holding his hand out to me.

I was positive my heart stuttered to a complete stop.

I didn't know this guy from Adam! But for reasons I couldn't explain, he felt safe. Really safe.

I glanced around again for Tom, who was nowhere to be found. One dance couldn't hurt. I hesitated for one more moment, then put my hand in his.

An electric shock went through my body. I think he felt it too, because I heard him gasp. He held my hand tighter and swept me further onto the dance floor, making us disappear into the crowd.

The DJ was now playing regular songs along with his mixed ones. Right now, Michael Buble's version of Kissing A Fool was playing. It was one of my favorites. The man twirled me around then pulled me close, but not too close. We danced as Tom and I had first started.

Tom…

The man looked at me and grinned. I couldn't help it; I smiled back. He had one of those infectious smiles. He twirled me around again, but pulled me in slightly closer when I came back. To my surprise, I didn't mind. He put his cheek next to mine, not touching, and sang with the song:

"People, you can never change the way they feel. Better let them do just what they will, for they will. If you let them steal your heart from you…." I almost melted. His voice was velvet. He opened our distance again and looked at me. It looked like he was blushing. "Sorry," he mumbled shyly. "I'm not sure what came over me. I love this song, though." I smiled at him. "I do too." He grinned at me, twirling me again, this time dipping me before pulling me back to him. I giggled, feeling myself loosen up.

"What is your name?" he breathed. I shook my head, feeling devilish. "I'm not quite ready to reveal my identity yet," I said slyly. I was really liking this anonymity thing. His next grin was cheeky. "Alright, I can deal with that. For now." I laughed, and we twirled around and around as song after song passed us without even knowing.

**Ooh, who is the mystery man? I think I put some clues in there for ya ;) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7! I really love this one :)**

Chapter 7

"Ok, I'm sorry, but I have _got _to sit down, my feet are killing me and I'm parched," I said laughing. He laughed with me. "Oh thank god! There's an empty spot over there we can go." He grabbed my hand, no longer shy at all with me, and I could feel the electric current run through us again. It had been happening all night. Our bodies had moved completely in sync with each other. I couldn't explain how alive he was making me feel, and I still had no idea who he was. It was enchanting and mysterious not knowing who the other was or even looked like.

"Here we are," he said, grabbing two glasses of champagne off of a passing waiter's tray and sitting down next to me. "Thank you very much," I said gratefully. We both gulped the champagne down way too quickly. He called another waiter over, who obliged us with two more glasses. We sipped these more carefully. "So, do you live around here?" he asked me. I tapped my chin, mocking being thoughtful. "Hmm…well, I think that is still a bit too much info than I'm willing to give just yet," I told him cheekily. He laughed. "We've been dance partners most of the night!" I giggled. "Ask me something not as personal." He cocked his head to the side, thinking. "Ok then. Any pets?" I nodded. "One dog, one cat. You?" He smiled. "A dog named Brucie." I smiled. "That's a cute name," I said. He nodded. "I named him after Bruce Springsteen. He's my favorite musician. Other than myself of course." That made me laugh.

"I love Bruce as well. So you're a musician, eh?" He tapped his nose, then pointed at me. "Too much info, I think," he said with a wicked grin. I laughed loudly. "You got me there! Ok, next question?" He sat quietly another moment and quickly checked his watch as he thought. "Well," he said softly, that seductive tone creeping into his voice again, "May I kiss you at midnight?" I felt all of the air whoosh out of my chest. "Um, well," I stammered. "It can't be that close to midnight, yet, can it?" I could hear the nervousness in my voice. He smiled slyly at me.

The music throughout the hall suddenly cut off, and the DJ's voice rang loud and clear:

"All right everyone! We are coming up on our one minute to midnight countdown! Here we go!"

Big numbers in neon flashed on the screen above his head on the stage: _59, 58, 57…_

The moment was already here. And I was out of time for thinking.

The man was looking at me still, waiting for my answer.

I had planned on kissing Tom on the New Year…but that didn't seem like a possibility anymore, as I had no idea where he was and had less than a minute to find him. Besides, I had spent the better part of my night with a complete stranger. A stranger who, for unknown reasons, I felt completely and utterly comfortable with, among other things….

What could it hurt? I would more than likely never see him again anyway.

_31, 30, 29…_

I turned toward him, and saw that he was leaning towards me already. I could feel the electric current building between us again. I saw him reach for me…I slid my chair closer to his…

_18, 17…_

He put one of his hands lightly on my arm, the other in my hand. I put my free hand on his shoulder…

_12, 11…_

"10, 9," he whispered. "8, 7, 6," I continued. We whispered together:

_"5, 4, 3, 2…."_

And suddenly, as the crowd cheered and laughed and brought in the New Year, my lips fused with his.

Fireworks burst from within me.

The electricity pulled us closer and closer together, until there was not possibly another inch between us. Our hands were everywhere. His were currently on my face, grasping me gently to him, mine clutching him to me around his shoulders. 

It was all sensation and texture and feeling. I couldn't hear anything around me.

It was all him.

His mouth was soft but assertive, and fit so perfectly with my own. Time froze for months, years, eternity.

And all too soon, it was over.

We broke apart and looked at each other, his hands still on my face. "I want to see you," he murmured, reaching to pull off my mask. "No, wait." I stopped him. I could see his confusion. "You alright?" I nodded. "The face might not be as good as the fantasy," I said softly. "I don't know how that is possible," he chuckled, his hand resting on the mask still. I bit my lip.

Was I ready for this? It was easy when we had no idea who the other was, when we could hide behind the façade. But now we were getting ready to show our true selves. And it scared the hell out of me. What if he saw my face and decided I wasn't so beautiful after all?

He sensed my lingering hesitation. "Hey," he said softly, cupping my chin. "If you don't want to, it's fine. We can talk, and definitely kiss some more," he said, smirking cheekily at the end. I grinned at him. "Ok then. Favorite color?" "Blue," he said automatically. "Favorite movie?" he asked me. "Erm, The Holiday," I said undecidedly. He smirked. "Not sure?" I laughed. "I love films! It is hard to pick just one!" He nodded. "True." I thought for another moment. "Favorite hobby?" "Oh, that's an easy one! Footie!"

He took a sip of champagne. "Favorite place to go think?" I smiled. "Oh, that is a great one. My favorite place that I go almost every day is a tiny little café on 4th Avenue. The owner, Mrs. P, is wonderful. She always reserves my favorite table just for me. I go there to think and write." I stopped, blushing, realizing I was completely rambling. I looked up at him, for he was rather quiet. He was staring at me thoughtfully.

"What?" I asked softly, breathlessly, for the way he looked at me quite literally took my breath away. "I think I'd quite like to kiss you again," he said tenderly, sensually. Before I could gather my senses, our lips were once again intertwined with each other.


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry this one isn't as long! I'll have chapter 9 up soon, I'm just struggling to finish it off. Anywhoo, I love this one too :) Enjoy, and R&R if you please :) **

**Disclaimer: Don't own McFly, Carrie, Izzy, or anyone else intimately connected with them, unfortunately. I do own Emma and this fic!**

Chapter 8

"I've got to get some fresh air," I said abruptly, breaking our extremely hot make out session. He grinned at me. "Too much for you, eh?" he asked cockily, wiping him mouth. I smirked. "A bit. Plus I'd like to find my friend Carrie so I can get this mask off. If I mess up the masterpiece she's made of me she'll have my head on a platter," I said, giggling. He grinned. "Carrie's my best mate's little sister's name," he said randomly. I nodded. "My Carrie has an older brother too! Anyway, don't move. I'll be right back!" I stood up, wobbly.

"Careful, love! What, didn't want me to come with you, then?" he asked, and though he said it in a playful tone, I could tell that he was hurt. "No, I do! But, I think for right now I should go by myself…." I trailed off, not wanting to say too much. But he only nodded. "I get it now. The bloke you were with earlier might see us together?" I nodded sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I-" He cut me off. "Don't be bothered by it. I get it. I'll stay here and wait for you, ok?" He was so cheerful, and seemed genuine. "Please don't be mad," I begged. "I'm not love, just hurry up and get back to me," he said, grinning that infectious smile of his. "Alright. I'll be right back!" I promised, dashing away.

As I looked up for the side of the balcony that we had been sitting on, I started to realize how extremely drunk I was, and getting drunker by the minute. Everything had seemed so clear when I was with…_him. _I had to find Carrie, fast.

Luckily, I didn't have to search too far or long. She was sitting at our table, alone. She gasped when she saw me. "Ah! There you are! Where have you been?" She looked me up and down. "Are you tankered?" she demanded, then continued without waiting for an answer. "Tom's been going mental! Ever since he lost you he hasn't been able to find you! I've had to listen to him carry on half the night about not getting to kiss you at midnight! Then unbeknownst to him I see you dancing like a fool with some other bloke! Are you alright?" She cut off mid-rant to stare at me concernedly. "You are mighty peaky. Sit down." She grabbed my arm and sat me in the round booth next to her. "Let's get this mask off of you, maybe it'll help."

I sat patiently as she fiddled with the clasp in the back and felt a relief as the mask was finally taken off of my face. I didn't realize how hot it was underneath it!

And suddenly the world was spinning, for there was too much to see without the mask on.

"Oh no you don't Em, I know that face!" I gasped, knowing what was coming. "Shit," I heard Carrie mutter. She swiftly grabbed one of the bread baskets from the table before I puked all over the floor. It felt like my insides twisted. I absolutely loathe throwing up.

I finished, and Carrie hurriedly grabbed a handkerchief from the table for me to wipe my mouth on before I wiped it on the dress. "There you are. Maybe we should take you home now," she frowned. "I can't," I slurred. "I need to get, back, to, _him_." I couldn't even form a whole sentence properly! "McFly will, be, starting, soon," I added. I still hadn't seen them perform, and STILL had yet to meet Danny and Dougie!

Carrie shook her head. "I don't think you'll be getting that chance tonight Emma. Up you go," she said, hoisting me up. "We will get a taxi." I waved her off. "No, you, stay. Your, brother." I sounded so out of breath. She shook her head again. "No, I need to stay with you. He'll understand. We'll go to his flat, it's closer." Tom's flat! I felt a swoop in my belly.

"Come on, Em. Let's get you home and into bed." My mind protested while my body obliged her.

_Oh well, _I thought sluggishly. _It wouldn't have turned out good once he saw me without the mask, anyway. The fantasy _always _outdoes the reality._


	9. Chapter 9

**Yay! I just finished it! So, because I'm awesome, you get TWO chapters today! Other updates might be a bit slower, but seeing as I have the day off, and won't be doing anything until later, I'll try to get more chapters done! Also, a quick shoutout to evilneevil, who has been very wonderful reviewing for me! Thank you lovely :) Anyways, if you haven't figured who the mystery man is, it is pretty obvious in this one ;) Enjoy!**

Chapter 9

Danny's POV

I slid my mask on over my hair and face easily, feeling somewhat foolish but rather excited at the same time. _I could be anybody in this mask, and no one will ever know_, I realized.

"Doug?" I called down the hall of my flat. "Dude, hold on! My hair is almost perfect!" he called back from my bathroom. I rolled my eyes. "Mate, everyone is probably already there! Hurry up!" I heard him huff, and finally heard his footsteps. "Do I look alright?" he asked, and I knew he was actually worried. I laughed. "Doug, you look fine, mate. Let's go then if you're finally done primping." He scowled. "I dunno how I feel about this whole matching tuxes thing, Dan," he said for the millionth time. I shrugged. "It doesn't really bother me, and Tom thought it would look good for publicity and whatnot," I replied as we were walking out the door, unbothered. We had gone over this a million times, and I was over it.

Tom had insisted we wear matching tuxes. However, we didn't all want to wear just a plain tux, nor did we want to wear the same colors, so Harry (who was the only one who had a date) suggested we matched our dates' dresses, but keep the same general idea. So we all had our vests and masks custom made with different color pinstripes. Harry's was blue to match Izzy, Tom decided to take his little sister Carrie, so he got purple put in his, and since Doug and I didn't have dates we picked our own. He got bright green put in his, and I thought gold and black have always looked sharp, so that is what I chose. The end result was that we were all the same but different.

It was a pretty cool idea.

Anyways, Tom decided to rent a limo for him, Carrie, and some friend she had invited to go, and Harry wanted to take Izzy by himself, so that left Doug and I to fend for ourselves.

As usual.

The trip to the venue was rather long, but once we got there, it was amazing. I had never seen anything like it. _This could be really fun, _I mused.

Dougie and I both started looking about immediately as we walked in. There were high ceilings and huge chandeliers. It was pretty cool. People were everywhere, on the dance floor, in the lobby, at the bar. Absolutely everywhere, all in masks.

I heard Dougie groan next to me. "Damn! We should've decided to meet somewhere!" he said, exasperated. I chuckled. "It'll be fine, Doug, don't sweat it. We'll find them soon enough. I bet you anything they're up there," I said, pointing at the high balconies. Dougie nodded. "I think you might be right. That is exactly where Tom would want to sit. Let's go look."

We walked upstairs and saw Carrie's curly hair almost immediately, then a couple that looked like Harry and Izzy next to her. As soon as they saw us they started waving frantically. Dougie breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god!" he said dramatically, like we were dying of thirst in the desert and had finally found water. I rolled my eyes, and we made our way over to our friends. As we reached them, I realized one of our most important members was missing. "Where's Tom?" I asked, confused. Carrie giggled. "He's out on the dance floor with Emma."

Emma? Oh yes, Carrie's little mate who had never bothered to meet us or show up to one of our shows, although Tom never seemed to be able to shut up about her…

_"Oh, Dan, she's so gorgeous," "Oh, Dan, she's so nice," "Oh, Dan, I don't know how to shut up about her."_

You get the point.

"She finally decided to show up this time, then?" I said acidly. Carrie narrowed her eyes at me. "Now, Danny, none of that! You don't know her at all!" I shrugged. "Whatever, Care. I think she's a snob for never bothering to come to one of our shows, especially when we gave you free tickets!" Carrie stared at me impassively. "I'm not going to tell you everything about her, Danny, but she's had a rather difficult life, so I'd appreciate it if you stop talking shit about my best mate!" That softened me up a bit; Carrie and I never quarreled. "Alright then, Care. I'm sorry." She shrugged. "S'alright." She grinned suddenly, over the argument already. "So, are you going to look for a hot date out there, then? There are plenty of gorgeous girls here available for you, I'm sure. And even if they weren't available, I'm positive they'd make sure to be when they see you, Dan!" she giggled. I smiled at her. "Thanks, Carrie. Yeah, I think I will go looking for a bird to dance with," I said, standing up and taking a quick swig of my champagne.

"Coming, Doug?" I asked the young bassist, who was in deep conversation with Harry and Izzy. Something about lizards.

He waved me off. "Later, Dan." I nodded, walking down the balcony stairs to the dance floor. As I walked, I kept my eyes peeled for my beauty. There were too many good looking girls on the floor to choose from!

I had just started to make my way towards a tall blonde in a tight emerald green dress when I saw her.

She was in a long ball gown type of dress. It was dark red and strapless with black lace and such on it. She turned slightly and I saw that the front of the dress was short, and evolved into the longer dress that I had seen the back of. She was tanned, dark haired, curvy and gorgeous. Her dark mask fit her face perfectly, and she was easily the most interesting person in the room just from her attire only.

Her dance partner had just walked away from her, leaving her alone on the dance floor. I couldn't believe he'd leave her by herself; she was such a beautiful girl, and even with the mask covering her face, I could tell. She was smiling absently to herself.

I started to walk towards her when I stopped myself. She obviously liked that guy, that much was obvious. _But enough to say no to me? _I thought. Carrie's words rang through my head suddenly: _"And even if they weren't available, I'm positive they'd make sure to be when they see_ _you."_ Was she right? Would this girl leave her date for me?The only way to know was to ask.

I gathered up all of the courage that I possess, and made my way to her. I hesitated one more time, before finally reaching out to tap her shoulder. That tiny little contact sent a shiver down my spine. Frankly, it scared me. I had never felt anything like it in my life.

She turned, still smiling, and I knew she thought it was that other guy coming back to her. Her smiled faltered slightly as she saw that it was in fact not him. I gave her a moment to asses me, and as she finished she looked up at me expectantly, her eyebrows slightly raised. "Hello," I said politely. "Hi," she replied warily, and I could tell she was unsure of what to do and say. She waited for me to continue. I hurriedly tried to think of something that didn't sound too lame, but also honest. "Well, I saw you standing there, and I thought you were much too beautiful a girl to be without a dance partner. I was hoping you would honor me with a dance." I cringed inside a little. It was totally lame! I had never used the word 'honor' in normal conversation. When talking about the Queen, yes, but not while trying to pick up a girl!

I smiled at the beautiful girl, hoping I didn't look like a total creep. "W-well," she stumbled over her words. "I'm kind of with someone…." She paused and looked over her shoulder, probably looking for the guy that she had been with. "That doesn't sound too committed," I said arrogantly. I saw the color rise up to her cheeks. It looked beautiful with her light coppery skin.

"Well, we're not exactly together, but-" I cut off her explanation, knowing too well where it was going. "But you want to be?" I asked, my heart sinking a little. She paused, biting her lip as she thought. That one little action made me want her more than ever.

_I need to dance with this girl, to know her more,_ I thought unexpectedly. I had never wanted to know someone so much in my entire life. There was no explanation why I wanted, _needed _to know her. I felt some internal pull towards her. Once again, it was something I had never felt in my life. I had always considered myself a sort of know it all when it came to girls. It was _always _too easy to charm a girl into sleeping with me and disappearing the next day.

This girl was different. I actually wanted to see where things could go with her. I wanted to see her laugh, and know what made her interesting.

I was in so much trouble.

"Well, kind of," she confessed, bringing me out of my silent reverie. I nodded, my suspicions confirmed.

"Of course. The most beautiful girl in the room is taken, or wants to be. Sheesh." I said this more to myself than to her, not really realizing I was speaking aloud. I ran my hand through my hair, something I tended to do when nervous or frustrated. I glanced down at her, and noticed she was looking at her feet, biting that lip again….I had to try one more time. She had to be mine.

Using every single tool I had ever used in my entire life to capture a woman, I asked as seductively as I could, "Are you sure I can't have just one dance?" I held my hand out, trying to be as gentlemanly as possible. Her eyes snapped up, meeting mine.

Her full lips parted slightly as she exhaled one quick, sharp breath.

Her straight white teeth pulled at that bottom lip another time, taunting me. Why was that so damn hot?

She turned away from me then, looking around us again, but not as urgently as before. Her date or whatever had gone completely AWOL. I saw the war she was waging with herself. I wanted to be the winner of that war. She turned back to me, her hand lifted in the air, hesitating. Her eyes flicked up to mine before she finally submitted and put her small hand in mine.

One of Dougie's favorite things to do to me is to rub his sock-clad feet on Tom's shag carpet, then run and shock me with the static charge he'd built up.

When this beautiful woman touched me, it felt like that, times 5 million, but in the best way. The charge went through my whole body, making me shiver and gasp. No one had ever made me feel like that.

I had to be closer to her. I needed to keep feeling like this.

I swept her into my arms, twirling her around the dance floor. The charge never stopped zinging throughout my body.

The songs changed, and Kissing A Fool by George Michaels was playing, except it was the Michael Buble version. Without even realizing what I was doing, I pulled her into my arms, singing some of the lyrics softly in her ear.

She looked up at me, amazed. I felt myself blushing. _Where the hell did that come from? _I never did things like randomly singing to people I didn't know.

Well, on second thought, I guess I do that almost every day of my life.

"Sorry," I murmured, not looking her in the eye. "I'm not sure what came over me. I love this song, though." She smiled shyly up at me. "I do too." I felt my chest swell, and pulled her close to me again, twirling her around and dipping her. It took all I had not to kiss her right then and there.

"What is your name?" I asked her abruptly. She shook her head, a wicked grin on her face. "I'm not quite ready to reveal my identity yet."

I grinned at her cheekiness. I burned to know who she was, but it was also fun _not _knowing.

"Alright, I can deal with that. For now," I warned, still smiling at her. She laughed, a throaty and raw sound. A sound that couldn't be faked. I wanted to hear more of it.

This girl was doing things to me, making me feel like I've never felt before.

To be quite honest it scared the living shit out of me.


	10. Chapter 10

**You know how awesome I am? Awesome enough to update 3 times in one day! ;) This one is very cute if I do say so myself :) Thank you my lovelies, and I would LOVE some reviews. No pressure ;) ;) ;) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own McFly, Carrie, Izzy, or anyone intimately connected with them. I do own Emma and this story!**

Chapter 10

Emma's POV

_Oh Gods in heaven my head hurts, _I thought sluggishly. My head was pounding, and I found it difficult to think straight. I shuffled around in bed a bit, finally resting on my right side, and saw to my surprise, a glass of orange juice and two paracetamol lying on the bedside table. I gratefully reached for them, gulping the orange juice urgently, coating my parched throat.

As I laid down the glass and put my head back on my pillow, I started to finally look at my surroundings, realizing something was not quite right…

This wasn't where I lived.

The room was decently kept, apart from some clothes in a pile in the corner. The walls were a light grey-blue color, and there was one very large window, along which sat what looked like a multitude of Disney character figurines on its sill. As I looked around more, I noticed even more Disney paraphernalia in the room, from stuffed animals to pillows and throws.

This was a Fletcher household.

But seeing as I obviously knew what Carrie's room looked like, I knew it wasn't hers. And I had seen the Fletcher's house, and also knew that couldn't be where I was, as it was too far away….

My mind struggled to find that missing link, still fuzzy from all I'd had to drink.

I sat up, wobbly, and took in more of the room, trying to get more clues as to where I was. I knew it was so obvious, but there was a barrier in my mind, not letting me figure out the mystery. I looked down at the bed, and saw my fingers clutching the sheets.

Star Wars sheets. Tom had Star Wars sheets, he had told me once…

Tom.

I was in Tom's room.

I screeched, suddenly jumping up despite my pounding head.

I heard feet quickly running down the hall to me. I quickly grabbed a sheet, covering myself. I didn't even bother to look at what I was wearing…

Carrie burst into the room, her wild hair looking even crazier at this time in the morning, especially since I had just woken her up with my scream.

Her eyes wide, she scanned the room, and looked me up and down, making sure I was OK. "What's the matter?" she asked urgently. "Why am I in Tom's room?" I whispered, not sure where he was.

How did I end up here? I couldn't remember a thing.

Carrie's scared look disappeared to be replaced by humor. "You don't remember a thing, do you?" she asked, leaning up on the door frame. I shook my head, my aching head throbbing even more. "No, I can't. I can't think of anything that happened last night."

And as suddenly as I said it, it all came flooding back.

Tom and I dancing in the lavish venue, the champagne, Dougie and Danny missing, the stranger…

The stranger!

"What happened to him?" I asked abruptly. Carrie looked at me, bewildered. "Erm, Tom, do you mean? He left, he and the band had a meeting. He was frantic and wanted to stay with you, but he couldn't miss the meeting this morning." She finished, smirking at the end.

Tom was frantic? About me?

"Really?" I asked, not being able to help the grin spreading on my face. She nodded happily. "He was so worried about you last night. He called as soon as he realized we had left. He was ready to cancel their gig for you!" I shook my head, confused. "But why?" I asked her. She looked at me as if I was stupid. "Do you really not know?" she asked me, frustrated. I shook my head. "Emma, that brother of mine is crazy about you! He has been for who knows how long!" I just kept shaking my head, not wanting to believe it. And how did she know?

"How do you know?" She giggled. "It's quite obvious, isn't it?" I shrugged. "Not to me." She snorted. "Well after the way you two were goggling at each other last night, it was pretty obvious to everyone. I guess the boys already knew Tom fancies you, and I had always suspected it but never wanted to butt in." She paused, looking at me closely. "You alright?"

I shrugged again. "I just never knew," I said softly. All this time, he had always liked me back. Days, months, _years _that were wasted agonizing over him, when all this time he was doing the same.

Carrie was still watching me. "You like him back, don't you?" she practically demanded. I looked up at her, surprised. "Do you want me to?" I asked, taken aback. She threw her hands up in the air. "Well of course I do, silly! You're my best girl! I always thought you two would be great for each other. I just wish you had told me," she said, pouting at the end. I laughed. "I'm sorry! I just, I value you so much, Care. I didn't want this to ruin our relationship." She giggled and hugged me. "Oh, no, my love. I do believe you are stuck with me forever." We hugged each other silently for a few moments before she pulled away, keeping both of her hands on my shoulders.

"I do have one question, though," she said, her voice stern. I raised an eyebrow in question. "Yes?" "Who was that bloke you were dancing with last night?"

Once again, my mind was pulled back to mysterious handsome stranger from the evening. Memories came flooding back:

Dancing for hours, talking about ourselves, snogging…

Without realizing what I was doing, I touched my lips, remembering him there. I could still remember the electric shocks running between us. I had never felt like that before.

He was special...memorable.

I never wanted to forget him. I couldn't figure out _why _he was so special. I didn't even know him! I just knew there was something there.

And I had no way to ever find him.

I sighed, lowering my hand, taking myself out of my daydreams. Carrie was eyeing me suspiciously. "You snogged him, didn't you?" she asked. I was surprised there was no accusation or anger in her voice. I nodded guiltily, looking at my feet. "I'm sorry, Care. There was just something about last night, it was so magical, and I couldn't find Tom…" I trailed off, slowly raising my head to look at her again. Her eyes were sparkling. She giggled. "It _was_ quite magical last night, wasn't it?" she asked excitedly. I nodded, starting to grin. "Don't worry about it, Em. Tom didn't see it, and you had your own little adventure. Do you even know his name?" I frowned. "No, actually. I was going to you to take my mask off so we could properly meet each other and that is when I got sick. I never even got to say goodbye," I said sadly. She put a hand on my shoulder. "Maybe it is for the best," she said softly. I nodded.

"Anywho, you need to get dressed, missy! It is half past noon, and I imagine Tom will be home within the next hour or so! You don't want him to see you still dressed like that, do you?" She pointed to my attire, and I finally lowered the sheet and looked down at myself.

I was in Back To The Future boxers and a Darth Vader T-shirt. I giggled, embarrassed. "Are these Tom's?" Carrie laughed. "Yes, of course they are. Well, actually, I guess they really could be any of the guys', they're around so much." I rolled my eyes. "Great, thanks for that reassurance," I said sarcastically. She winked at me. "I'm praying that it was you that put me in these?" I probed. She nodded. "Of course! But it was Tom that put you in his bed."

I wasn't expecting that. "Really?" She nodded again. "Yes, after he got home, he saw you on the sofa and said that you must sleep in a bed. I offered to put you in the guest room with me but he wouldn't have it and carried you up here." I blinked. "Wow," I said lamely. She nodded. "I know. He's adorable with you," she said, wrinkling her nose. "What?" I asked, laughing. She waved me off. "Nothing, nothing. I'm just not used to saying my brother is adorable," she said, giggling. "He is, though," I pointed out. "Yes, yes, he's dreamy and all that nonsense." I swatted her arm.

"Anyway, come with me, I do have some spare clothes here for when I decide to stay sometimes."

And with that, I followed her to be properly dressed and pampered before her brother came home.


	11. Chapter 11

**I really like this one, but I wasn't sure I was finished with it yet. Definitely more to come though! Lots of plans for this fic, already planning the sequel :))) anywhoo, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own McFly, Carrie, Izzy, or anyone intimately connected with them. I DO own Emma and this fic.**

Chapter 11

Danny's POV

_"…brrrrrr…brrrrr…brrrr…"_ The most annoying vibrating noise came from under my head, waking me up. I decided to ignore it and tried to fall back asleep.

"_…brrrrr…brrrrr…brrrr…" _Damn. _Just ignore it, Dan, it'll go away,_ I thought tiredly.

_"…brrrr…brrrrr….brrrrr…" _Someone was intent on getting ahold of me. I finally dug for my phone that was buried underneath my pillow.

**5 texts, 6 calls**

"Shit," I muttered. Was something wrong? I checked the texts first, 1 each from Dougie and Harry, the other 3 from Tom.

Dougie's read: **Dude, where are you? Tom is about to have a meltdown.**

What was he going to have a meltdown about today? It was Sunday morning, for goodness sake's!

Harry's was similar: **Dan, you alright? Tom is about to head over there. He said you better be dead or else he'll make sure you are for being late again.**

Late? For what? I sat silently for a moment, trying to wake up and think about what I had to do today….Sunday morning…Oh fuck. Sunday Morning Radio. We had a meeting with them this morning. 

"Shit!" I said again, more urgently this time, jumping out of bed. I didn't have to read Tom's to know what they said, but I risked looking at them anyway:

**Dan, you up? We need to get going soon.**

**Mate, you alright? Hurry up.**

**DANNY! GET THE FUCK UP! **

They actually weren't too bad. But then, I hadn't even listened to the voicemails yet, and I had 3 of them.

The first two were much like his first two texts, worrying, gently telling me to get up because of our meeting this morning.

The third threatened violence, much like Harry had said:

"_Danny FUCKING Jones! I swear to the Queen that if you don't get up soon, I'm going to come over there and beat you senseless! Get your ASS up NOW!" _

That had been three minutes ago. Which meant I had exactly 20 seconds to get my clothes on and downstairs before he barged in with his key.

I scrambled and put on a pair of jeans that were lying on the floor, quickly checking them over for stains and whatnot. I snagged a T-shirt from my wardrobe and put it over my head, grabbing a hoodie on the way out of my bedroom.

I shoved my feet into my shoes, not even bothering with socks, when the knocks came.

Bangs, more like.

"Danny you better be up or I swear to God…." I opened the door before Tom could finish. His cheeks were red from the cold and his irritation at me. Before he could open his mouth, I said, "You ready to go? Sorry, I was in the shower." He looked me up and down. "In case you've forgotten, I didn't meet you yesterday, nor was I born then. I know you just woke up because your hair isn't wet, you wore those pants when we went to lunch yesterday, and you have no socks on. _And," _he continued, "You always text when you're up. Nice try though," he finished smugly. I scowled. "Ok, you've made your point," I said, closing the door behind me. "Are you happy now?" He smirked. "Not quite. We are about to be late, so we have to hurry and get there. The boys are already in my car," he said, gesturing to his mini, where I saw Harry and Doug smashed in the back. I groaned. "Why didn't you take Harry's car? By the way how did you know these were the pants I wore yesterday?" I asked randomly. "My car is faster than Harry's, plus his happens to be in the shop. And you got ketchup on them yesterday, remember?" he said, pointing to a spot I had missed when checking them earlier. "Ah, shit," I groaned. "I hate wearing stained pants."

"Thank you boys, thank you! Lovely as always! Ladies and gentlemen, once again, McFly!" The radio DJ dismissed us from our interview and we all took our massive headphones off.

"Good job, lads, thanks again for coming on the show," the DJ said off-air, shaking our hands again. "Thank you again for having us, John," Tom said politely. The other boys murmured politely while I stayed quiet, as I had been all morning. "Alright there, Danny?" John asked me, taking me out of my thoughts. "You were unusually quiet this morning. You're always the life of the party!" he said, laughing lightly. I smiled half-heartedly. "Sorry, John. Partied a little too hard last night." He nodded, understanding. "Of course, of course. Well anyway, see you lads next time! Happy New Year!" We waved and left the studio.

Tom was the first one to attack as we walked to his car. "So, Dan, what's the _real _reason you've been acting so odd today? You didn't even drink that much last night." I felt them all staring at me, but I could look none of them in the eye. How could I tell them I was pining for someone I didn't know at all?

"Yeah, Dan," Doug continued, "I didn't see you after we got there until right before the gig. Where did you disappear to last night? Did you find a girl after all?" he asked cheekily, always eager to hear about my conquests. I tried not to grin, and failed. Dougie nudged me. "I knew it! Spill dude!"

What was the harm in telling them? They were my very best mates, the only people I'd tell absolutely everything to. I sighed.

"I met a girl last night," I said, starting off slowly. Tom rolled his eyes. "Tell us something we don't know, Dan. You're always meeting girls." Harry nodded. "Yeah, and we already know the story. You met a hot bird, took her home, shagged the living daylights out of her, then left before she knew you were gone." I shook my head, smirking. "It wasn't like that this time, mate." All three stopped walking to stare at me. I stopped and turned to look at them. "What?" I asked, confused. Doug spoke first. "Seriously? You didn't shag her?" I laughed. "No, mate. Besides, I spent the rest of the night with you guys. I imagine you would've noticed me sneaking off with someone." Dougie nodded, but Tom wasn't giving up just yet.

"Yes, but I took Dougie home. How are we to know you didn't leave with her then?" Harry cleared his throat. "Actually, I can vouch for him on that one. Iz and I walked with him to his car after the gig. He was alone," he said, sounding shocked himself to be saying those words. I rolled my eyes and turned, continuing to walk to Tom's vehicle. The others followed.

We piled into the car, Harry sitting in front with Tom this time. As soon as I climbed in next to Dougie, he began bombarding me with questions again. "Ok, so you didn't shag her. But did you at least snog her then? Kiss her on the New Year and all that?"

His words took me back to last night….

I could still feel her in my arms and my lips on hers. Her skin was so soft, like satin. Her lips were tender, inviting. She smelled amazing, like musk and rose petals, and bar soap. Weird, but it was intoxicating. And her eyes…those fucking amazing eyes.

Grey, with a gold sunburst in the middle. Like day and night mixing together.

God, I missed her already.

I absolutely **_had _**to find her.

"Er, Dan? Earth to Danny!" Dougie snapped his fingers in front of my face, bringing me out of my flashback. I startled, much to the boys' amusement. "Must've been one hell of a kiss," Harry muttered, still smirking.

"It was so much more than that," I murmured, looking out the window. Dougie finally fell silent, leaving me to my thoughts.


	12. Chapter 12

**I am sooooooooooo sorry for the long update! School, work, boyfriends, and general day to day stress get in the way. But I will make sure to update at least once a week! Promise! Anyway, this chapter was also giving me a hard time. I had serious writer's block. I knew where I wanted to go with it, just not how to get there. Anywhoo, sorry for the long a/n! Enjoy! R&R please :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own McFly or anyone closely associated with them, but I own Emma and this fic. **

Chapter 12

Emma's POV

"Ok, almost done! Just have to get this bit here, yep." Carrie's voice was muffled as she fussed to put bits of my hair in bobby pins, half of which were in her mouth.

I sighed. "Are you almost done yet? It might be a wasted effort. He probably doesn't even like me still after last night." She laughed loudly, spilling bobby pins all over the floor. She cursed under her breath as she bent to pick them up. "Oh, girl! It would take a lot more than you ditching him once for my brother to stop liking you. He is completely smitten," she said matter-of-factly. I grinned. "Really?" She rolled her eyes. "Of course Emma. And why wouldn't he be? You're gorgeous, smart, and funny. I haven't told him about any of your funky habits yet, so he'll be hooked until that point." I laughed, turning to smack the first part of her I could reach. Instead, I got bits of my hair pulled for my efforts.

"Ah!" She gasped dramatically. "Now look what you did, Emmy! You completely mussed your hair!" I giggled wickedly. "Sorry, Care-Bear. I will behave now." I sat up straight, acting like a good girl. She went back to fixing my hair.

"Carrie?" I asked softly after a moment, looking down at my hands. "Yeah?" she answered, still distracted with my hair. "I can't stop thinking about him," I said, still quiet. She smirked, almost spitting out a pin again. "That's normal, silly! I bet he's thinking about you at this very moment!" "Really?" I asked, moving my head suddenly, earning me another yank. "Dammit, girl! I swear if you move one more time…" she warned. I giggled. "Sorry, I just keep getting a bit excited." She huffed. "I realize this, but keep still!"

We both fell silent again for a few moments. Carrie sighed. "I don't understand why you are so worried, Em. Tom absolutely adores you, I'd never lie." I frowned, confused. "I think I quite believe you," I said, still not understanding completely. "Then why do you sound so unsure?" she asked, also confused. "Because I'm not sure we're talking about the same person…" I said, trailing off.

Uh-oh…

Her hands stopped messing with my hair. "You weren't talking about Tom?" she asked slowly. I shook my head, looking at my hands again. She sighed again. "Girl, what am I to do with you? You've got to stop thinking about that guy from the party! It won't do you any good. Plus, you'll never find him again, so what is the point?" I shrugged. "I know, you're right, but I just can't get him out of my head. I don't know why." She nodded. "I understand, Em. But seriously, even if you did find him, what would you do? You liked the person he was underneath the mask, you've no idea what he is really like. He could be some horrible person, or maybe he's got a gigantic mole on  
his face or something," she said, giggling at the end. I laughed with her.

I trailed off, thinking. What _would _I do if I ever found him? Seeing as that is near impossible anyway, Carrie is right, I need to just put him out of my head.

"You're finished," she announced proudly. She led me to a huge mirror that Tom had in his spare bedroom (what is it with Fletcher's and their huge mirrors?). I looked pretty, yet simple:

Dark blue jeans with a burgundy jumper and white lacy cami underneath. Carrie had once again fixed my hair to not look so wild. It waved softly down my back, out of my face, which was extremely unusual for me.

"Thanks lovely," I replied happily. She beamed at me. "You look wonderful. Now, I must be off, but I'll be back soon," she said abruptly. I turned so quickly to look at her I cracked my neck. "Ow! Ugh. Wait, where are you going? You're just leaving me here?" I asked incredulously. She waved her hand in a _it's no big deal _gesture. "It's just Tom's house. He should be home any minute…" she trailed off, backing up as she talked. She swiftly grabbed her jacket, scarf, and gloves that were hanging on the door and walked out of the room. "Carrie Fletcher! What are you up to?" I asked knowingly. She turned to look at me, a suspiciously innocent look on her face. "Whatever do you mean?" she asked me sweetly. I narrowed my eyes. "Spill it. What do you know?" She shook her head, her eyes getting bigger the harder she tried to keep her secret. "Nothing. Nothing at all," she said, all the while backing up even more towards the front door. "Carrie!" I exclaimed, trying my hardest to not laugh. She grinned at me, and I saw so much happiness in that smile. "You'll see." She winked and quickly turned around, opening the front door and walking right into Tom. So much for those psychic sibling powers of hers.

"Oh!" she said, suddenly flustered. "Erm, well bye! I'll be back later!" she said swiftly, and closed the door and left before either of us could object or say anything back.

Tom looked at me slowly, the cutest confused look on his face. "Er, any idea at all where she went?" he asked, finally making his way gradually into his house. I watched him put his bags by the kitchen counter on the floor. I shrugged. "No idea. She said she'd be back soon but gave me nothing more than that." The silence dragged on for what seemed like hours, and a new atmosphere hit me all of a sudden: we were alone. Completely alone.

The tension and awkwardness felt like they were going to hit me in the face it was so potent. We were both looking off in separate directions, having no idea what to say or do first. But as I started to get over the awkwardness (or accustomed to it, I guess), I started to become aware of my sudden urge and desire to be closer to him. I knew the only way to do that was to start opening up to him and make the awkward tension go away. But seeing as I am the most awkward person ever, I knew it was not an easy task.

"So, er, how was your meeting?" I hoped it was a good question, and not one that he would just reply with "Oh, it was good," or something like that. His face lit up, relief that most apparent emotion. "It was great, thanks! It was on Radio 4, with John Rasher. I quite like him. He always gives us a good laugh…." He continued on, telling me about his day, and how last night had gone after he had lost me…

I slapped my forehead. "I'm so sorry, Tom! I'm so sorry I kind of ditched you, and got super drunk and fell asleep on your sofa and that you had to carry me to your bed and I didn't get to meet your mates!" I took a deep breath, having said all of this in one breath very quickly. He laughed. "Calm down, it's alright. It was a pretty awesome party, so I figured you got caught in the mix of it. I know you haven't been to anything quite like that, so I wasn't bothered. Too much," he added at the end with a grin. "And as for being drunk, seriously, who hasn't been? Who knows how many times I've been in a state exactly like that, and also much worse other times, all of which there was no one to carry me to their bad, which I did not **_have _**to do by the way. I just wanted to," he finished softly, his chocolate eyes boring into mine.

He absolutely took my breath away. And he wasn't just a fantasy. He was real, right in front of me.

"Thank you," I mumbled, looking at the floor. "Thanks for the clothes as well," I said a bit more loudly, looking up to grin at him. He returned the smile, but his mouth was shaking at the ends. I could tell because I looked at his mouth very often. And I knew this was something that happened when he was nervous.

He came closer towards me. "I er, wanted to ask you something," he said quietly, still keeping eye contact with me though. "Yes?" I breathed. My whole body was shaking, I was so nervous. I was pretty sure I knew what was coming, but I didn't want to get my hopes up.

"Well I, er, well, I, uh. God, I'm horrible at this, sorry," he said, wiping his face with one of his hands. He ruffled his long hair and looked at me again, more confident this time. "Would you like to go on a date with me?" I sucked in my breath quickly, causing me to cough violently. Tom patted my back gently, waiting for my fit to cede, an amused but not impolite smile on his face. I could feel my cheeks burning. I looked up at him shyly, a delightful smile creeping onto my face.

"I'd love to, Tom."

"YES!" A triumphant voice was heard rejoicing outside of the door, followed by hushes and thumps. Tom and I looked at each other, bewildered before understanding at the same time who it could only be.

We both ran to the door, and Tom opened it to find Carrie running down the street, cackling wildly.


	13. Chapter 13

**Two updates in a day! Yessss...I do love reviews, and evilneevil is very kind to always give me one! Thanks again dear :) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't McFly or anyone associated with them. I do own Emma and this fic.**

Chapter 13

Danny's POV

I had the plan of all plans. It was such a good plan, it even amazed me.

I had been thinking about _her _nonstop for the last four days, whilst hearing Tom go on and on about Emma once again. He had finally asked her out on a proper date, which was tonight, and now he wouldn't shut up about it.

"_Dan what should I wear? Does this look alright? Will she like me in this?" _It never ended. And I still had yet to meet this girl.

But I didn't have the time or frankly the mental capacity to deal with his clothing issues now. The woman at the party occupied my every thought. I couldn't let her go. But she had done one great thing other than come into my life that night; she had given me one tiny piece of her life that I planned on using to my full advantage:

The coffee shop.

She said she went to a little coffee shop on 4th avenue. The owner's name is Mrs. P. Shouldn't be too hard, right? So basically, I'll just go find the place and find her. She said she goes there almost every day.

Only problem is, I don't know what she looks like. All I know is, dark reddish brown hair, amazing grey-gold eyes, and fantastic body. But she won't be in a dress or mask this time. Somehow, though, I just _know _that I'll know her. I'll feel it.

So, it turns out that 4th avenue is a tiny, _long_ alleyway. It goes on forever and ever and ever. And ever. I checked out every single café, first looking for a girl with dark hair like hers, second, looking for an owner named Mrs. P.

When I finally came upon the last, smallest café at the very end of the alleyway, the place was so obvious that I felt like a complete idiot. But honestly, how was I to know?

The café was called Mrs. P's Café & Teashop. Of course.

I hesitated, finally knowing that this was it. She could be here, right now. _What will I say?_

I shook my head, just deciding to keep it cool and go with the flow of things.

_Deep breath and go in, _I told myself. Taking that deep breath, I pulled the door open and walked inside.

The place was light, airy. It had an almost _magical _feeling to it. I looked around, but noted that only one person was in here at the moment, and seeing as it was a bloke, I knew it couldn't be her. I sighed.

"Can I help you, dear?" the sweetest old lady I've ever seen asked me. I hesitated, not knowing what to do. Should I wait and see if she showed up? Should I asked the old lady?

I decided against the last one; I didn't want to seem like a creep. "I'll just have a cup of tea, please," I said politely. She nodded and smiled sweetly at me before shuffling away to the kitchen area. I found a table in the back corner by the window that I really fancied.

I stayed and drank 3 cups of tea and ate the largest muffin I've ever seen before I finally decided to leave.

I sighed, standing up and put a few notes on the table. The old lady, who was in fact Mrs. P. herself, shuffled over to me once more. "Are you leaving already dear?" It was quite adorable, for she looked genuinely upset that I was leaving. I nodded. "Yes, ma'am, but I'm sure I'll be back. This is a lovely place you have here." She beamed. "Thank you young man. I love seeing new faces in my shop. Come back anytime." She waved. I waved back and exited the cozy little café.

What I said was true. I would in fact be back. I _had _to see her. She would be back. I would just start coming in at different times to see if I could find her.

A week passed of me making secret trips to the coffee shop. And I never saw her.

I had started off going only once a day. Then twice. Now sometimes as often as three times. And still, she was never there.

Today would be my last and final visit. If she wasn't there today, then I was calling it quits, ending this obsession with someone I didn't know at all. Plus, I was starting to draw attention.

Mrs. P. had noticed me coming in more and more often, and she finally asked me what was going on. I told her I was hoping to catch an old friend there. She gave me an odd look, but she never called the police on me or anything, so I think she figured I was safe. Frankly, I was really starting to feel like more of a stalker each time I went into that little shop.

The lads were getting suspicious as well. They kept asking me where I was going all of the time. I had been able to keep them in the dark and evaded them somewhat effortlessly, but it wouldn't stay that way if I kept this up, so it had to end today.

I once again found myself in front of the door of the shop, once again preparing myself to walk in.

I took a deep breath and reached for the door.


	14. Chapter 14

**I am sooo sorry this is late! The fillers really kill me, guys. I pretty much have the main plots of the story ingrained in my brain, but the little bits and pieces sometimes take me a minute to figure out what I want to say! I finally finished out this one, and I actually ended up loving it. Here you go! I hope I don't disappoint too much! Please R&R my lovelies! Thank you and enjoy! This one has lots of cuteness!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own McFly or anyone intimately associated with them, but I do own Emma and this fic. **

Chapter 14

Tom's POV

My palms were sweating profusely, and I was quickly praying to God that my armpits weren't doing the same. I have a rather bad problem with sweating when I'm nervous.

And I'm quite nervous.

I'm finally taking the girl of my dreams out on a date. We've known each other for years and I still feel so nervous around her!

This is the first time, though, that being around her means so much more. I get to show how I feel about her, finally.

I walk up to her and Carrie's flat, checking myself out in their glass door.

I didn't think I looked too bad myself, to tell the truth. Jeans, white long T-shirt, and black T-shirt with Darth Vader in sunglasses over it. She won't really see much of my outfit, seeing as it is cold outside, but still, I think I look good. No thanks to Danny at all, who's still occupied with that damn girl from the party.

He has been acting so weird all week, sneaking out and such, not telling any of us where he is going. It's not like him to keep secrets, especially from me. But I'm not one to pressure people, so I'll let him be. He'll tell me when he's ready.

Anyway, I deem myself to be presentable, if not slightly greasy unfortunately. I didn't have a lot of time today, so my hair doesn't look as good as it should, but Emma is no doubt used to it by now, or she just doesn't care. She obviously wouldn't be dating me if she thought otherwise…right?

Before I can even knock, Carrie has opened the door for me, already knowing that I'm here. She beams at me and waves me in. I grin at her and walk in.

I walk into their little flat, instantly smelling one of the many candles they always have lit. They have loads and loads of candles, and there is always at least one burning, if not more. Carrie says they are calming or something. I was always awed by how cozy their flat was. It was very inviting. I remembered how much Mum had worried about Carrie moving out so young, only 17 years old, her whole life ahead of her. I worried about it sometimes too, but she was living with Emma, who is one of the most responsible people I've ever known. She takes good care of her.

The girl I had (always) been thinking about walked into the room at that moment, looking as nervous as I felt.

She smiled at me shyly. She looked lovely. I don't think I've ever seen her without her hair in her face. It made her look even lovelier than usual. The whole world shrunk away when she was in the room. I had completely forgotten about Carrie.

However, Carrie is not one to be ignored or forgotten. She cleared her throat very loudly and obnoxiously. Emma and I both turned to glare at her humorously. She lifted her eyebrows in a seemingly innocent expression. "Well, are you leaving or not?" she asked impatiently, putting her hands on her hips. Emma and I both laughed.

I held out my elbow for her. "Shall we depart, madam?" She giggled sweetly, putting her arm through mine. I felt my stomach flip over. We waved to Carrie and left the flat.

My hands were shaking, and I stumbled slightly (hoping she didn't notice) as we made our way to my car. I opened the door for her, a timid smile on her mouth as she climbed into the car. That smile suddenly made me want to kiss her. I went around the car and slid in next to her. She looked at me with a happy grin, her beautiful eyes shining.

"Ready?" I asked her. She nodded. "Alrighty then! Let us be off!" She giggled at my nerdiness.

"So, where are we going?" she asked after a beat of silence. I smirked. "That is a secret! You'll find out when we get there. It's not too far."

Our short drive to my chosen destination was filled with easy conversation and laughter. I felt myself quickly relaxing around her. It both did and didn't surprise me how easy it was to be with her.

"Ok," I announced proudly. "We're here!" She looked up, taking in her surroundings. She gasped. "Oh, Tom! This is gorgeous!" She paused, and started to giggle. It was infectious, so soon I started to giggle as well. "What?" I asked her. "This is definitely not what I thought this date would be," she said, still giggling. I pretended to scowl. "And what does that mean, young lady?" She laughed some more, unable to stop. "Well, I dunno. I just thought you would be like every other guy I've dated, and do the whole dinner and a movie thing." I smirked. "Well, see! That is your problem! I'm not like every other guy." I smiled at her before letting up my seatbelt, and pulled my car door open. I heard her mumble something; I couldn't be quite sure, but it sounded like she said "Thank god." I grinned from ear to ear.

Emma got out of the car, looking around at the botanical garden I had brought her to. She gasped as she looked at the beauty of it all. The snow made it even more appealing.

I reached into the back seat and grabbed the large picnic basket that I'd brought with me, along with a few blankets. Emma turned to see what I was doing. As soon as she saw the basket she gave me a huge smile. "A picnic? Really?" she asked excitedly. I nodded. "Oh yes. I love a good picnic now and again," I said with a grin. Both of us seemed completely unable to stop smiling.

She took the blankets in one arm while I held the rather heavy basket. I held my free arm out to her again. "Shall we go find somewhere to sit, miss?" She nodded. "Yes, sir, I think we shall."

We found a perfect spot right next to what I call the Lily Pad Pond. The whole pond is absolutely covered with lily pads, and is filled with fish and frogs and other pond creatures. "Wow, that's really cool," she said, looking at the delicate lily pads. I nodded. "I know. This is my favorite place to sit. It is really awesome in Spring and Summer. I like to just watch everything that goes on in there." For a pond, it was actually incredibly clear water, so you could see down to the very bottom. Well, obviously not right now, because of the snow, but you know what I mean.

Luckily, I had picked the perfect day to do this. There was no wind, and it was a fairly nice day. We both still had winter coats and hats on, but it was still incredibly nice. I took the blankets from Emma, and overlapped the two of them so our bums wouldn't get too cold whilst sitting on the snow covered ground.

We sat down, both shivering slightly at the first feeling of the cold ground. We quickly got used to it, though. I started to unpack the picnic basket, pulling out an assortment of sandwiches, fruit, cheese, and crisps. "Wow," she said, sounding rather amazed. "You really went all out." I chuckled. "Not really. I just wanted to make it special," I said without thinking, blushing madly after I realized what I'd said. "Well, it is very special," she said quietly. I cleared my throat. "Erm, well, I hope you are not vegetarian," I commented, quickly trying to remember if Carrie had ever mentioned it. Shit. That is typically something you find out when you take someone on a date! She laughed. "No, I'm not." I sighed, relieved. "Oh, thank goodness for that. I made chicken sandwiches," I said, laughing. She grinned. "Perfect," she said simply. I took out the plates, forks, and napkins from the basket. "You are very well prepared, aren't you?" she asked with that same shocked tone. I don't think men are usually this organized or well prepared, which makes me slightly weird, I know. "You have no idea," I said cheerfully. I pulled the last few items out of the basket. "What is that?" she asked somewhat warily, eyeing the thermos in my hand. I chuckled at her tone and facial expression. "Hot chocolate! What did you think it was?" She laughed. "I have no idea. I thought for a fleeting second that maybe you had brought alcohol, but after I quashed that idea, I thought maybe it was coffee, of which I'm not a huge fan." I shook my head. "I'm only a fan of Starbucks coffee. I've tried to make my own, but I always manage to make it taste completely awful." We both laughed and started to get into our food.

It wasn't until I was starting to really feel cold that I decided to check the time. To my surprise, I found that we had been gone for 3 hours. "Wow!" I said after looking at my watch. "What?" she asked, and I could see that she was shivering. "We've been gone for 3 hours!" She raised her eyebrows. "Wow, I had no idea!" she said, her teeth starting to chatter. I stood up and held my hand out for her. She took it and I helped her up. "We should go," I said, rubbing her arms absent-mindedly. I didn't even think of what I was doing until I felt her staring up at me. I jumped away a little, hoping I didn't offend her; it was so easy being natural with her. "Oh, erm, I'm sorry," I said sheepishly. She smiled. "I didn't mind in the slightest, Tom. But we really should get going. I'm pretty sure my knickers are starting to freeze to my bum." She paused, realizing what she had just said. Her already red cheeks burned with embarrassment. I giggled. "Seems I'm not the only one doing that," I said, gathering all of our stuff together. "Doing what?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "Not thinking about what I say or do before I do or say it." She nodded, grinning.

We packed the stuff haphazardly into the basket and ran to the car. I started the heating as soon as we got in. We both breathed heavily, anxiously waiting for the car to get warm. We looked out onto the horizon, the sun starting to set. "Oh," she breathed softly, taking in the beauty. I suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Come on," I said swiftly, opening my door. "What?" she asked, confused, her eyes wide, not wanting to go back into the cold. I laughed.

"Come on, just for a moment! There's something I want to do!"

I of course had brought my camera, not being able to go anywhere without it, and inspiration had suddenly hit me as I saw her looking at the sunset. I had already taken loads of pictures during our picnic but this one was different. She groaned. "It's cold!" she said half-heartedly. I laughed again. "Just for a moment! The car will be warm when we get back in." With that, she climbed out of the car, my excitement enticing her, I think.

"Ok, stand over there," I commanded politely. I snapped a few shots, the sun haloing her head perfectly. She turned to brush the hair out of her face and I pushed the button again, capturing her silhouetted against the sun perfectly. She scowled at me, but I knew she was joking, seeing the corners of her mouth start to pull up. "One more," I promised. "Ok," she acquiesced, "but on one condition." I lowered my lens, amused. "And that is?" She crooked her index finger, telling me without words to come near her. My heart started beating quickly. "You have to be in this one with me!" I grinned. "Alright. I think I can handle that." I walked over to her, and before I could say or do anything, she had put her arm around my waist. My stomach flipped.

We had been slowly flirting and briefly touching during our picnic. A brush of the fingers here, a quick hand grasp there.

But she had completely bypassed that and put her arms around me. I mean, I know we were taking a picture together, but it still surprised me. In a good way, of course.

"Hurry," she whined jokingly, but I knew she really was cold, so I held up the lens toward us. I snapped a few pictures of us quickly. I looked them over on my screen. "Good?" she asked. "Well, if we move a little to our right it will be perfect." We scooted to the right, bumping into each other. We both laughed, and I looked down at her, and she was looking up at me, flushed face, snow falling in her hair from the tree we were under. She looked so breathtaking.

That's when I kissed her.

To be completely honest, it wasn't the best first kiss I've ever had. We were both so cold, and our lips were pretty much frozen. But after the first, and even second and third kisses, it got a lot better. Her lips were so soft and inviting (after they thawed a little, that is). She looked up at me again, her eyes shining. "I've wanted to do that for a very long time," she admitted. I nodded. "Me too." She suddenly grabbed my camera. I started to protest, but she silenced me with her lips. "Just a moment," she said softly, her eyes capturing mine. I heard the click of the shutter. I pulled her into me, taking her face in both of my hands and kissed her again, passionately. After a few moments, I heard the shutter click again. I laughed.

"Oh, I see," I said, taking the camera from her, replacing it with my hand. She grinned, taking my hand giddily. "You were just using me to get a good shot, is all," I accused. She shrugged, still grinning ear to ear. "You caught me. That's all I want you for, good pictures." We both laughed, and walked hand in hand to the now warm car.

**A/N: Awww, aren't they so cute? Ok, if you caught it (and I've thrown other hints throughout the fic) obviously I know that Carrie isn't 17. This is set a few years back. It'll be explained more in the next few chapters. I hope you liked it!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm soooooooooooooooooo sorry for the delay! School has been crazy. Anywho, I'm so sorry for the long update, but I hope the wait was worth it! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own McFly or anyone associated with them. I do own Emma and this fic.**

Chapter 15

Danny's POV

I walked in, the little bell above the door easily becoming one of the most recognizable sounds in my universe.

Automatically, I started to go to my usual table in the corner. However, someone else was occupying it today.

A girl.

She had long, dark brown hair that was currently swept over her shoulder to her left side.

My heart leapt into my throat. Could she be the one?

Mrs. P. hurriedly made her way over to me, knowing me all too well now. "Danny, dear! How lovely to see you again! What can I get you today?" I smiled warmly at her. "Just your amazing tea, please, Mrs. P." She nodded. "Of course, dear. Can I tempt you with one of my muffins today? They just came fresh out of the oven!" Her big blue eyes were so sweet and inviting. She reminded me of my nan. I laughed. "How can I ever refuse you?" She smiled. "Alright, love, I'll have that for you in a jiffy! Take a seat," she waved me off, busily retreating to the kitchen. I again looked at the girl at my table in the corner.

She was reading a book, the title of which I couldn't see. There was one earbud in her ear, connected to her MP3 player. She also had a pen and pad of paper next to her, which made me wonder if she was in University and was maybe taking notes.

_What to do? _I wondered. I needed to think fast; I couldn't keep standing here forever. It looked like I had three options:

1. Sit at a different table and try to subtly study her (kind of creepy)

2. Get my tea and muffin to go, and be done with this business forever.

3. Go over and talk to her.

Honestly, I'm such a coward that I actually opened my mouth to tell Mrs. P to make my order to go. That is, until she looked up and I really saw her face.

She really was so lovely. Her light olive skin was such a beautiful color. Swiftly, her eyes swept the room, and I was stopped completely in my tracks. Even from this distance, I could tell she had amazing eyes. And I suddenly felt so drawn to her.

Before I could even decide what to do, I found myself walking towards her with nothing rehearsed. Everything that I had thought of before had completely gone out the window.

Before I knew it, I was standing right in front of her. She looked up at me, bewildered. _Say something idiot! _I thought frantically. Wow. I had clearly not thought this through.

"Hello," she said politely. Her voice was lovely. "Can I help you with something?" she asked deliberately. I finally snapped out of the trance she had put me in.

"Er, yes. Hello! Actually, I just happened to notice that I've never seen you here before." _Wow, clever Danny. Really clever._ As would be expected, she smirked at me. She set her book down. "Oh, really? Do you come here very often?" This was starting to sound like a cheesy film. I grinned at her. "Actually, as of recently, I come here _very_ often. It has fast become one of my favorite places," I said truthfully. She nodded. "I've been coming here for years. I love it here." Her tone was somewhat dismissive. She was telling me that I needed to make a point or get the hell away from her.

_Shit! Think, Danny, think! _

"Well, I actually noticed that you are sitting in my seat," I blurted out, hoping I sounded cool and composed and not like the bumbling idiot I felt like right now. She raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Is that right?" She asked, and I could tell she was definitely intrigued and amused.

I felt my confidence being raised from the dead.

"Yes," I answered matter-of-factly. "Since I first walked into this place, this is the only table I've ever sat at. I like it next to the window," I said, indicating the sunny scene outside. She nodded, pretending to be deep in thought. "Well, it seems we will have to do something about that then, won't we?" She asked.

I grinned. "What do you have in mind?" She tapped her chin. "How about best 2 out of 3 in paper, scissors, stone?" "Wheyy, I'm ace at that! Ok, let's see what you got then!" I challenged. With a wicked grin, she beckoned me to sit down at her table.

Excitement and nervousness were coursing through my body as I sat down.

"Alright," she said, eyeing me suspiciously, "no cheating!" I scoffed. "I never cheat!" _Though my friends would beg to differ_, I thought slyly.

She hunkered down, getting in position. I mirrored her actions. We gave each other competitive looks.

"Alright," she said, slowly, dramatically. She paused for what seemed like forever. She grinned wickedly again. "1,2,3 go!" We both pounded our fists into our palms three times before we revealed our choices:

Me, stone, she, scissors.

I win the first round.

She scowled. "Alright, that was a fluke. I'll get you this time!" I laughed. "Alright, then. I'll count this time." She nodded.

"1…2…" I counted excruciatingly slow. She huffed impatiently.

"3 GO!" She got me this time with paper over my stone.

"Ooh, tie breaker!" I taunted. She glared. "I've got this. My turn."

"1,2,3 GO!" She chose paper again…but I chose scissors instead of stone.

"I win!" I announced triumphantly. She grinned. "So it seems," she said, beginning to gather her things.

I started to panic; I hadn't anticipated this. "Where are you going?" I asked frantically, my voice cracking just the slightest. She smiled. "We said whoever lost had to go," she stated. I shook my head. "Neither of us said such a thing!" She laughed. "Well, either way, you won the table so I need to sit somewhere else." Without thinking, I reached out to touch her hand; I felt a zing go through me. It took my breath away for a moment. Her face had completely changed when I touched her; she looked confused.

"You can sit with me," I said softly. She looked torn, as if something was holding her back. Then she suddenly grinned and nodded. "Alright," she agreed. "As long as you don't challenge me again. Clearly you are destined to beat me." I laughed. "I think I can agree to those terms."

She set her stuff back down, getting comfortable in her seat again. We both just stared at each other for a few long moments, each of us studying the other before the silence was broken.

"So, what do you do?" she asked conversationally. "As in work wise?" I replied. She nodded.

This confused me a bit.

I was right out in the open. My signature hair was its curly self again after being straightened for the masquerade party. I was definitely Danny Jones. Blue eyes, freckles, pale skin and all.

So how did she not know who I was?

I know that sounds arrogant, but my face is plastered all over London. I know how recognizable I am.

But she obviously doesn't listen to McFly, otherwise she would know who I am.

So, to put it simply, I just said, "I'm in the music business." She raised her eyebrows. "Wow, that's cool. What exactly do you do?"

I had to think quickly. "Well, I do a bit of everything really. I'm in a band, I've recently started producing my own music. You know, stuff like that," I said casually. She nodded. "A band, eh? Anybody I've ever heard of?" "No," I answered truthfully. Well, kind of. She'd probably _heard _of us, at least…she _had _to have! But for some reason, I didn't really want to find out.

"So, what do you do?" I was eager to get the topic off of my life. Her eyes lit up. "Well, right now I work at a floral shop…" I raised my eyebrows. She grinned. "Hold on, I haven't finished yet!" I waved her on. "Continue."

"As I was _saying," _she said pointedly, "Right _now _I work at a floral shop, but my dream job is taking longer to get into." She paused, and when she didn't continue, I asked, "And that is?" She smiled. "I want to be a magazine editor slash journalist."

I raised my eyebrows again. "Wow, that's really cool," I said truthfully. She nodded, very confident in this. "Yeah, it's something I've wanted to do forever. I have a few interviews this week, so I'm crossing my fingers that one of them wants to hire me." I nodded. "Oh, I'm sure. Places like that are always looking for passionate people like you." She smiled shyly, a contradiction to the attitude she'd occupied so far. "So what magazines are you getting interviewed for?"

"Well, I have 3, and they are with The Sun, Ok!, and Recognise. Honestly, I'm not the biggest fan of the Sun, it is a bit rubbish, but I figured I'd give it a go anyway. Right now I'll take what I can get. My favorite and most hopeful is Recognise," she gushed. I was impressed. "You really have your life figured out," I said, awed. She blushed. "Hardly! But honestly I do feel a bit more accomplished than usual," she said, laughing. "And once I get a job, I'll feel a lot better about myself!" She looked so young, and to have achieved so much.

"Here you go dears!" Mrs. P. suddenly appeared next to us, carrying a platter with our tea and muffins. We smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you, Mrs. P." the woman murmured sweetly. Mrs. P. smiled at her. "You're quite welcome, dear. I'm glad you finally found someone to sit with, Danny," she said fondly, turning to me. I blushed. "Thanks, Mrs. P." She nodded, smiling again at the both of us before hurrying back to the kitchen.

I shook off the embarrassment quickly, trying to think of something to say before she could ask me about what Mrs. P. had said.

"How old are you? If you don't mind me asking, that is." She shook her head. "Not at all. I turn 20 in March." "Awesome. When in March?" I asked curiously, for my own birthday is in March. "The 8th," she replied offhandedly. "Mine's the 12th!" I said excitedly. She smiled. "Really? How old are you?" "22. I'll be 23."

She nodded. "That's good. So when are we going to properly introduce ourselves? We've been talking for ages, fought for seating rights, and still I don't know your name!" I smiled; she had a point.

I looked up, directly into her eyes. I couldn't see them very well, as the sun was shining right in my face. She laughed as I flinched, turning the window blinds a bit to block the sunlight. As soon as she did and I looked into her eyes again, I had to stop myself from making a scene:

Grey, with a gold sunburst in the middle. Day and night in one.

It was her! The girl from the party! It had to be!

But at the same time, for reasons I don't know, I wasn't 100% convinced. I'd just have to get to know her better.

She was looking at me expectantly while I thought. "Ok, I guess I'll go first then," she said, slightly perturbed. She took a breath, then said with a big smile, "I'm Emma." She held her hand out to me in proper greeting. I winced; what was it about the name Emma lately? I couldn't bloody get away from it!

All I ever hear about is Tom and Emma, Emma and Tom, Emma did this, Emma is such a great snogger, blah blah blah.

Damn. What a damper.

She cleared her throat, still holding her hand out to me.

"Shit, sorry," I mumbled. "You alright?" she asked, looking concerned and slightly pissed off at the same time. "Yeah, sorry about that," I said, not looking her in the eye. She looked me up and down. "Do I know you or something?" she asked haughtily. Her tone caught me off guard. "What?"

She huffed. "Well, as soon as you heard my name, you completely froze! Did I do something? Do I know you and just don't remember or something? I'm sorry, I'm actually fantastic with remembering people, so I have no idea what I did. I-"

I cut her off with a slight laugh. "I'm sorry. No, it's not you at all. My best mate's new girlfriend is also named Emma," I said, going sour again. "Oh," she said awkwardly. "Is she like a bitch or something?" she asked after a silent beat.

I shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't met her yet, but I just know I don't like her. She's a snob."

She laughed incredulously. "Well, how very judgmental of you! You don't even know her, and you say she's a snob! How could you possibly know that?" I huffed impatiently. "I guess I don't know for sure, but she's known him for years, and never bothered to try to get to know his mates. I can't stand rude people. Especially to my mates or family. In which case, my three best mates are both family and friends." She nodded. "Well, I can understand that a little better, but I still don't think it's right for you to judge her until you properly meet. My flat mate has a brother whose friends are like that. Never met me before, but she tells me all the time that one of them calls me a twat and other equally awful things! How awful is that?! He's never met me, ever! I'm sorry," she said abruptly, her beautiful eyes genuinely apologetic. "I'm not your mum, I shouldn't be scolding you."

I waved her off. "No, I understand. I guess I've just been so angry about hearing about her for so long and never meeting her. She always seems to be too busy to meet us for even 5 minutes. I don't get angry very often, but when I do, I'm slow to forgive. But I will keep your advice in mind. You're right, I'm being way too judgmental."

She waved me off. "S'alright. We all are at one point or another."

I nodded, trying to think of what else to say. How could I bring up that night without seeming too weird? Should I just ask her if she had been at that party?

I was about to open my mouth, praying something intelligent would come out, when a phone started going off.

Even though I knew it wasn't my ringtone, I still checked my phone anyways. Of course it wasn't mine.

Emma raised her index finger to me in a wait-a-second move. "I'm sorry, I need to take this real quick." I shrugged. "Alright."

"Hello Twinkles, darling, what's-What? What is it?" Her eyes widened.

I wondered who she was talking to. Maybe she had a boyfriend? The girl at the party didn't have a boyfriend…although there _was _the guy she fancied before I took her away from him….But maybe without me in the picture she had gotten with him?

I was taken out of my thoughts by her slightly frantic tone.

"Will you tell me already? You're starting to freak me out a bit…What? Really? Awesome! No, not right now. No, not terribly busy," she said flicking her eyes towards me, hoping I didn't notice.

"I'm at the café…Ugh, C! Really? I don't…No! Ugh, fine! I'll be there soon, keep your knickers on!" She paused briefly, then laughed. "Ok, be there soon. Love you too, dearest."

She hung up and looked up at me apologetically. "I'm so sorry, but apparently my flat mate needs me home immediately." I frowned. "Is she alright?" Emma rolled her eyes. "Yes, she is just incredibly dramatic. But apparently there is something quite 'urgently awesome' as she put it," she said laughing. She gathered her things.

"Will I see you again?" I asked as she stood up. She paused, stopping to study me for a few moments. "Do you want to?" she asked softly after a moment.

I nodded. "Of course."

She nodded after another slight pause. "Alright," she said, bending over to pull out a piece of paper from her rucksack. She asked me for my number. I gave it to her, feeling somewhat anxious; I didn't want her to leave.

"Alright!" she said again, more brightly this time. There was something in her eyes that I couldn't decipher; it looked like she was warring with herself for some reason.

"I'll see you around then, yeah?" she asked. I nodded. "Of course. It was lovely to meet you," I said. I stood up and to her surprise, swept her in my arms for a hug. She hesitated for a moment before melting into me and putting her arms around me too. She smelled _amazing. _Like…like….

Musk, rose petals, and bar soap.

_Oh shit! It's her!_

All the while these thoughts were going on, I also took in the fact that my body hadn't stop zinging with the crazy electric current since she first touched me.

It was _her._

She pulled away suddenly. "Well, it was lovely to meet you, Danny. I really must be going, but um, yeah, we_ might_ see each other again."

If she thought the emphasis on _might _was lost on me, it definitely wasn't. She was fidgeting now.

Something was definitely wrong.

"What-?" She cut me off. "I'm sorry, I can't, I, I really must go. Good-bye."

Then she was gone, leaving me standing there like a fool once again, wondering what the hell had just happened.

And once again, I knew that I'd go searching for her, and I'd find her again. If she didn't want me, she'd have to tell me herself.

Until then, I wouldn't stop trying.

**Uh oh...some trouble is about to start, methinks ;)**


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm sooo sorry for the long update! College is crazy, plus other things have been going on. And quite honestly, I've been a little bummed. I really love this fic, but it is rather disheartening seeing so many people are reading it (I know, contradictory statement) but getting no reviews. I'm trying not to beg guys, but I really do love reviews. I'd like to thank LeilaTheGalaxyDefender for giving me another boost :) I've had this chap written for a bit, but it never felt right. I hope you like it anyway :)**

Chapter 16

Emma's POV

I left the coffee shop in a rush, looking behind me constantly, making sure that Danny didn't follow me.

_What the hell was that? _I thought frantically. My mind was so confused.

The past week with Tom had been so wonderful, so carefree and simply _easy. _He was **everything** I had ever wanted.

But then…meeting Danny, it felt so…_right. _He was so familiar to me, and I had no idea why. I had wondered many times if he was the stranger from the party, but each time I wondered this, I knew it couldn't possibly be true, for various reasons:

The stranger from the party had straight hair, not curly.

Danny's voice seemed different than the stranger's.

I didn't remember the stranger being as pale as Danny is.

_However…_

Danny was northern, like the stranger.  
He was a musician, and the stranger had hinted at being one as well.  
When Danny touched me, that electric current passed through us, constantly, and I'd only ever experienced that with the stranger, which saddened me a bit….

I hadn't even had that with _Tom, _which worried me more than a lot of things. I mean, of course there are fireworks and all that, but no electricity…

So I guess I can say I'm not really sure if Danny is the stranger or not, but I do know that I won't be going back to the café anytime soon. I can't afford to see him anymore, especially with Tom fully in my life now. I wish I hadn't given Danny my number…

But at the same time I am intrigued by the mystery in him, among other things…

I'm so _fucking _confused!

Throughout thinking about all of this, I had already arrived at mine and Carrie's flat. I looked up in surprise, realizing I had kinda driven home on autopilot, not thinking about what I was actually doing.

I sat in my car for a moment, pondering some more.

Just like before, it didn't make any sense thinking about impossible things. Even if Danny _was _the stranger, I had made the decision to not see him again. It surprised me that that decision actually hurt a little…I didn't even _know_ this guy! It made no sense to think about a person I didn't even know, whereas it made absolute sense to think about Tom and how wonderful and _real _he is. So, as best as I could, I would not think about Danny and/or the stranger…much.

I was just about to unlock the door to our flat when it suddenly swung open and Carrie flew out of it on top of me.

"Oof!" I huffed as she landed on me, laughing hysterically. "Carrie, you arse! Getoffme!" I said it all in one short breath, trying to stop my own hysterical laughter. The giggles made her weak, and even though she was trying her best, she could not get off of me for the life of her.

"Get off me, Twinkles!" I said exasperatedly, using my pet name for her. "I can't, Pickle, I can't, stop, laughing!" she gasped. I giggled, pushing her gently off of me so I could finally breathe. "Ahh!" I breathed in relief. She only laughed some more.

It took me a moment to realize we were in fact just lying in our hallway of our apartment building. I noticed a few people even poking their heads out at us. I giggled again. "Get up, Twinkles, we're causing a scene as usual." Carrie picked herself up, shrugging. "Ah well," she said nonchalantly, not bothered in the slightest.

"So," I said as we were walking into our apartment, "what was so important that you had to phone and then tackle me, Missy?" She grinned, taking the things I had in my hands and putting them on the kitchen counter. "Ok! Magazine came out with pictures from the masquerade ball!" she squealed excitedly. I raised my eyebrows. "Well, while that is really cool, I don't see exactly why you are _so _excited." I was rather puzzled; it's not like Tom and his band mates hadn't ever been in a magazine before.

Carrie rolled her eyes. "We are in it, too, silly!" My jaw dropped. "We? As in you and me?" I asked, slightly frantic. Carrie nodded frantically. _Oh no…_

What kind of picture of me had been put in this article? I hadn't remembered anyone taking my picture…

Before I could say anything else, Carrie was already firing off about the article.

"It's a HUGE spread, not only with us but with loads of pictures of other celebrities and such," she said, bouncing with excitement.

"Do you have it?" I asked, dazed. "Of course I do!" she scoffed. She reached into the back pocket of her jeans, of course pulling out the magazine in question. The cover was filled with a collage of photos from the New Year's Eve party we went to. The title claimed: "**OUR EXCLUSIVE LOOK INTO THE BIGGEST PARTY OF THE YEAR!"** My breath quickened as Carrie flipped through the pages, looking for the article.

"Ah, here we are," she said, turning to the first page of the 16 page spread.

I tried to calm my racing heart as we slowly leafed through the pages, looking at the featured celebrities, many of which we (especially me, being preoccupied with _him_) hadn't even seen. When we got to page 9, we saw that that whole page, along with its corresponding page 10, was all about McFly. I sucked in a quick breath as soon as I saw Tom's beautiful face, mask on, a small strand of hair in front of his eyes, a polite smile on his lips:

'_Tom McFly looked very dashing indeed with his long locks slicked back, wearing purple to match his sister, Carrie (inset)' _the caption read under his picture.

Carrie glanced at me and grinned. We both smiled at each other and turned back to the article.

We looked and saw a smaller picture of Carrie in the corner of Tom's picture, smiling brightly, her mask to the side, in her hand.

She giggled. "I actually like that photo!" I nodded. "I do too, Care. Very cute. I approve." She rolled her eyes. "Well, gee thanks for that," she said sarcastically, grinning at me momentarily before turning to the mag again.

We skimmed over the small article slowly (there was mostly pictures), as they had asked the boys different things, about the party, their newest album, etc.

"Aw, Dougie looks so cute!" Carrie said excitedly, pointing to who I assumed to be Dougie. He reminded me of a surfer boy, with his slightly longer, windblown-looking hair. He had a cheeky, bright smile on his face. He was decently tan, with sparkly, kind blue eyes. I could tell just by looking at him that he was probably one of the funniest people I'd ever meet in my life; I adored him immediately. "Aww, he is adorable!" Carrie nodded. "Wait til you meet them all properly tonight!" I looked at her quickly. "Um, what?" Carrie stared at me blankly for a moment. "What are you talking about, Twinkles?" I asked her again. "Agh!" she groaned, slapping her forehead. "Tom was supposed to remember to tell you! We are having dinner at Tom's tonight, and all the guys and Izzy are going to be there."

"Wow," I said slowly, my heart beating fast again. "A little warning would have been nice!" She laughed. "You'll have to call and give him a good talking to!" I giggled. "Quite possibly," I agreed.

I again scanned the pages with the McFly boys. "This one is cute," I murmured, running my fingers over a picture with all four of them, noting that I still hadn't seen what McFly's Danny looked like.

The picture I was looking at had all of them in their masks. I noticed that their tuxes matched, yet very subtly. They were all wearing the same type of tux, vests, and ties, yet they were all wearing different colors.

Harry was in blue pinstripes to match Izzy of course, and the same going for Tom with Carrie. All of this I had obviously seen at the party.

However, Dougie, and the man I assumed to be Danny had no dates at all. I scanned Dougie quickly, looking cute in his bright green pinstripes, before my eyes finally fell on Danny.

His tux had gold pinstripes, and his mask matched perfectly.

Wow that looked familiar….My brain struggled to understand exactly why he looked so familiar. Why couldn't I put two and two together? Something was definitely super familiar about this man…

His eyes were shocking. A bright, crystal clear blue, piercing right through me.

_Do I know him, somehow? _I thought idly to myself. Not possible. _But then, how…?_

I looked at the other pictures quickly, hoping to find one with all of the boys without their masks on, searching for clues.

When I found it a moment later, I almost passed out.

Because there, looking right at me with a big cheeky grin on his face was Danny. Danny from the café.

When I looked back at the picture of the four of them in their masks, I suddenly realized why else he was so familiar.

He was the stranger.

The stranger that I'd thought looked quite nice in his black and gold striped tux.

Danny Jones from McFly.

Three different people all rolled into one in the same.

The man I'd been mooning over for a week (on and off in between my time with Tom), the stranger I met at lunch today that I'd been thoroughly intrigued by, they were the same man!

Danny Jones, lead vocals and guitarist of McFly.

Best mate of Dougie Poynter, Harry Judd, and…Tom Fletcher.

Oh fucking hell. What have I got myself into now?!


	17. Chapter 17

**This is very short, and I'm sorry about that, but it is a rather important filler (kind of). Anywho, I hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own McFly or anyone affiliated with them, but I do own Emma and this fic.**

Chapter 17

Emma's POV

I was full out hyperventilating by now. Carrie had disappeared into the kitchen to get me a paper bag to breathe into, still fully unaware of my rather sticky situation…to put it in the very least.

She came running back into the front room, where I was seated on the sofa.

"What is it?" Carrie asked frantically. I chose not to answer, instead continuing to breathe heavily into my paper bag. "Look, I was only joking about the picture of you. I mean, there is one, but you can't even tell it's you. You're just a blur!" She pointed to a picture of her, Tom, Harry, Izzy, and I while we were still in the grand hall. I was turned around, so you couldn't see my face, which was blurry anyway. It was probably when we were looking for Dougie and Danny, seeing as everyone else in the picture was looking around as well.

Who'd have known that I did in fact find Danny, twice, and just didn't know it?

My breathing became more labored.

I shook my head at Carrie, silently telling her that **that** picture wasn't the problem.

She frowned. "What is it then, Pickle? I need to know what the problem is!"

I tried to calm my breathing so that I could tell her, but every time I tried to, another thought about Danny or Tom, or worse, Danny **and **Tom, would pop into my head and I'd start to freak out all over again.

So instead, I simply pointed to the picture of the four boys without their masks on. Carrie glanced at the photo before she looked back up at me, confused. I huffed impatiently into my bag.

I again pointed to the picture, this time landing my finger on Danny's face, tapping impatiently. She looked at me once more, brow furrowed in confusion.

"Danny?" she asked. I nodded, relief starting to flood me. "What about him?"

I took a moment, concentrating only on regulating my breathing. I slowly took the bag off of my face.

"He…I…." My breathing heaved again dangerously. I closed my eyes, trying to calm down. I began once more.

"He's-" I was cut off by Carrie's ringtone ("When You Wish Upon A Star"). She glanced at the ID screen. She sighed. "I better take this, it's Mum," she said apologetically. I nodded.

She walked into her bedroom, and I could hear her quiet murmuring to her and Tom's mum, Debbie.

I put my head between my legs, breathing deeply. What would Carrie say when she finally found out? Would she completely freak out and/or have a go at me? I can't really see her doing that, but at the same time, I have seen her have a good row with people if they pissed her off enough….

All of the horrible things that could go wrong flash through my head, like:

What if Tom found out and went mental? Or, Danny calls me and says he wants to start seeing me romantically? What if he already told Tom about me?!

Ah no!

This is sooo bad.


	18. Chapter 18

**Yes! I finally updated! Sorry it took a little bit. I LOVE THIS CHAPTER! Slightly excited if you couldn't tell :D Anywho, quit reading this and get to reading the real stuff! **

Chapter 18

Danny's POV

I walked right into Tom's house, not bothering to knock. "Tom?" I called, shutting the door quietly. I waited but there was no answer. I figured he had to be up in his studio on the top floor; he'd already told me he would be home when I got here.

His ancient cat, Mr. Tibbs, crawled past me. "Hey there Tibby," I said, bending to scratch his ear. He leaned into my hand, purring softly. Tom knew he only had a year tops left with Tibbs; he had had him from a very young age, and the poor thing was riddled with arthritis and could barely get up the stairs anymore. "See ya later, dude." I gave Tibbs one last pat on the head before walking upstairs to Tom's home studio.

"Mate, you up here?" I called again. I heard a muffled sound, then a door opening. "Yeah mate, I'm in here," Tom called. I walked in to see Tom in full-blown songwriting mode. He was definitely recording a demo.

I grinned. "Writing a new song, eh?" He nodded, and I could tell from the expression on his face that he was very focused. "I just had this sudden inspiration and had to get up here," he said enthusiastically. "Here, I'll play you what I have."

The demo tapped in at a moderate pace, then some computer drumming filled in the silence, and finally, Tom's voice, rather higher pitched than usual:

_I've been searchin' for some,  
Love and affection but there's,  
Nobody giving me that  
Kind of attention  
I'm alone.  
Oooh, I'm alone._

_Can't help thinkin'  
That there's  
Somebody missin'  
Who could  
Hold me and please me  
Till I'm  
Tired of her kissin'  
I'm alone  
Oooh, I'm alone. _

The demo suddenly cut off.

"Is that all you have?" I asked in disbelief; whenever Tom is in this mood, he can literally finish writing a song within minutes.

He laughed, slightly embarrassed. "Well, that's all I've demoed so far," he said, "but the whole song is written. I'm just not sure about the sound yet." He frowned, thinking. "I think it should be something different than we usually do," I said, rubbing my chin in thought. Tom looked astonished. "Really? How different?" he asked suspiciously. I laughed, not surprised; Tom is extremely protective of our music and sound. "I don't mean completely, mate. Just maybe do something slightly funkier, maybe. Look at other artists, that kind of thing."

He nodded. "Yeah, I think you might be right, Dan," he said softly, eyebrows still pulled together in concentration. "So" I said after a small, slightly awkward silence, "what inspired this one?" An elated smile suddenly filled his face. I rolled my eyes before he even answered, already knowing what he would say. "Emma," he breathed softly, the ecstatic smile still plastered on his pale countenance. "Ugh," I groaned softly.

Not softly enough for him not to hear apparently. His smile faded and he sighed.

"Why do you hate her so much, Dan? You've never even met the poor girl yet, but you're so antagonistic towards her. She is absolutely terrified to meet you. She's afraid you'll throw fruit or something at her." I snorted. "Ah, come on, Tom! I'm not that mean! And you never should have told her that I don't like her in the first place!" He grinned. "I know, but still. Can't you at least just try to give her a chance tonight? I know you've been dealing with some stuff lately, but please, just tonight," he pleaded.

I resisted the temptation to roll my eyes again, especially when he subtly brought up my latest failed relationship. But then I looked at Tom's hopeful face; he's my best mate, there's no way I could let him down, especially when I've never seen him act like this with anyone but Emma. And after thinking about the way I felt about café Emma, it made me feel like even more of a dick. How would I feel if Tom didn't like the girl I fancied?

_Be a man, Danny. Stop acting like a selfish ass. _

I finally grinned at him. "Of course I will, mate. I will be the very word 'nice'." He smiled hugely at me. "Good. Now then, I-"

He was cut off by the sound of his door opening. He looked at his watch. "The guys shouldn't be here for another half hour or so. But then again, it's not like they don't always show up whenever they want," he said, rolling his eyes. He got out of his chair and walked to the door to call out to whoever was downstairs.

"Hey guys, we're up here in the studio!" I heard the sound of shoes falling on Tom's tile floor in the foyer. "It's me!" a female voice replied, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps running up the stairs.

Carrie walked into the room, her wild curly hair looking more wild than usual from the windy weather outside. "What are you doing here already? Why isn't Emma with you?" Tom asked, looking slightly panicked, though I could tell he was trying not to, which only made him look constipated. Carrie giggled at his crazy expression. "Mum called me. Uncle Herbert is ill again. She said it's not super urgent, but she'd still like for you to call." Tom huffed. "Ugh, why didn't she just call me instead?" Carrie rolled her eyes. "She said she did loads of times but you didn't answer, so she just called me instead, knowing I was coming over here anyways." Tom frowned and pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking it for missed calls. He raised both his eyebrows. "Right, well I guess I left it on silent," he said sheepishly. "I'm gonna go call her back." Carrie and I nodded while he walked out the door for more privacy.

"Hey Dan!" she greeted me brightly. I grinned at her. "Hey Care-bear, how's it going?" I gave her a one-armed hug. She shrugged. "Same as usual I guess." I nodded. "Did you see the mag that came out today about the party?" she asked excitedly. I shook my head. "Actually, I haven't. Do you have it?" She nodded happily. My heart sped up a bit; while I knew it was probably impossible, I was hoping a picture of _her _would be in the spread.

Carrie flipped right to the pages we were featured in. I looked at the ones of the four of us, and I had to admit, we looked pretty good in our matching-but-not-matching tuxes.

My eyes focused on a picture that Doug and I weren't in. It had Tom, Harry, Izzy, Carrie, and a girl I didn't know in it. They were all looking in different directions. "What were you guys doing in this picture?" I asked, laughing slightly. Carrie giggled. "We were searching for you and Doug! That's when we first got there." "Ah," I said, nodding. "Who's that?" I pointed to the girl, whose face and most of her body was blurry and/or pointed away from the camera. "That's Emma," Carrie said simply. "Ah, so that's the famous Emma," I said, turning to grin at her. Carrie laughed. "Yep, that's her. Shame you didn't get to meet her that night, Dan. She was so stunning. I mean, she always is, but that night she just looked amazing." I nodded, looking back at that picture. "Yeah, shame," I murmured sarcastically.

I took a closer look, noticing something. She had a tanned leg peeking out of her dress, but that seemed impossible, seeing as her dress was so long…

Unless it was short in the front?

I looked closer.

The color was a deep, beautiful burgundy color, and it looked like there was black lace on the bodice…

The biggest majority of her face was blurry, but I saw what looked like a black and red mask…Hmm…

It couldn't be…could it?

My curiosity burned.

"Do you have a better picture of her from that night? I'd just like to put a face to the name is all," I said, rushing to explain myself so I didn't look suspicious. Carrie grinned, not suspicious at all. "I do actually! Hold on a minute," she said, digging into her bag for her phone. "Here we are." She flipped through her many pictures. "Yep, here's one of the two of us right before the party! She already had her mask on, though. It was bloody hard getting that damn thing on, and I refused to let her take it off for anything," she laughed. My breathing quickened as she showed me the picture.

It was the girl from the party. The one I had danced with and snogged mercilessly.

And I had come to the conclusion today that Emma from the café was the same girl…

Which would mean…

No. I wouldn't believe it. I couldn't. So many things were screaming at me in my head, but I refused to listen.

Still, I was too curious to _not _know completely. So to put myself through more misery, I asked Carrie if she had any pictures of Emma without a mask on.

"'Course I do!" she replied cheerily. "Here's a good one that I took just yesterday. She was laughing when I got it." She turned her phone towards me, and my breath caught when I saw the beautiful girl in the photo. Dark, wild wavy hair filled the frame. It was slightly blurry; clearly Carrie or the girl (or both) were moving. Emma, the girl from the café, and the beautiful stranger from the New Year's party, was clearly laughing hysterically. Her eyes were bright, excited, and the gold starburst in the middle seemed to shine more vibrantly than usual.

Without even realizing I had been doing it, I was suddenly aware that I was breathing extremely hard.

"You alright, Dan?" Carrie asked, looking slightly alarmed. "Erm, er." I swallowed, and took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm er, I'm fine." Except I didn't sound fine. Unless she completely missed the way my voice had raised about 10 octaves when I said 'fine.'

She suddenly looked suspicious. "Weird. Emma acted the same way when she saw your…" Realization seemed to suddenly hit Carrie. She started hopping up and down, not in an excited way, but in an oh-my-god-you-snogged-my-best-friend-and-my-brother's-girlfriend sort of way. Frantically, to put it simpler.

"Sshhh!" I said desperately, praying that Tom was still talking to his mum in his room. "You're the, the, you're the," she spluttered, now walking madly in little circles. "Oh god, oh god. No wonder she freaked out when she saw your photo!" "Ssshhh!" I pleaded. "Care, seriously, if Tom finds out, he'll kill all of us." She started nodding and shaking her head at the same time. "No, I think he might understand. But then, at the same time, he's absolutely crazy about Emma, so he might do your face in. But then, he-" I cut off her mad rambling. "You're not helping!" I whispered, still freaking out myself. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry." She took several deep breaths. "Oh god," she groaned. "You two are supposed to meet tonight! How's that going to even go remotely well when you are both going mental?" I stared pointedly at Carrie as she spoke. She rolled her eyes, getting the point. "Yes, I'm going mental as well. I'm just making a point."

I zoned Carrie's voice out, thinking of all the clues that had been laid before me that I'd completely overlooked:

Emma, at the party, mentioning her friend Carrie taking off her mask, and even saying '_my Carrie has an older brother too!' _

My own voice suddenly came echoing back to me: "_Carrie's my best mate's little sister's name!"_

Fuck! How could I have been so blind?!

I thrust my hands into my hair, frustrated and anxious beyond belief. Carrie was still pacing around.

"I'm gonna call her, tell her to fake being sick," she announced. "You two cannot possibly meet tonight." I looked at Carrie. "She didn't tell you, did she?" I asked. Carrie looked at me with a confused expression on her face. "Tell me what?"

I sighed. "We met at that café that she goes to all the time today." Carrie's jaw dropped.

"WHAT?!" "SHHH!" I reminded her. She waved me off impatiently but dropped her voice. "Are you joking? You two met up in secret? What the hell are you thinking?! I'm going to kill you both! I swear to God-"

I cut her off, realizing where she was going with this. "No, no! You misunderstood! We didn't **meet **there, we actually _met _today, for the, well, not the first time, but second time. But we didn't know who the other was when it happened. She must've recognized me when she saw the magazine article." Carrie stood gaping at me silently for so long that I'd started to wonder if maybe she'd completely lost her mind.

I opened my mouth to speak when she suddenly burst out again. "Wait, what? So you mean to tell me you both met today and had absolutely **no idea** who the other one was?"

I ran my hand through my hair again. "Well," I started, feeling rather ashamed of my stalker-like actions this past week.

She didn't even wait for me to speak. "Danny Jones! Did you follow her there?!" she demanded. My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. "Well, not exactly…" I trailed off. Carrie put her hands on her hips. "Well tell me **exactly** then!" she said dangerously. I put my hands out to ward off her impending wrath. "Alright, alright! At the party, when I had no idea who she was still, she told me that she went to that little café all the time to write and think. So I just started going, hoping I'd run into her. And today, that's what happened. I wasn't even sure it was her until right before she left, I swear! And I didn't know it was Tom's Emma until I saw the pictures. I swear, Carrie."

Carrie glared at me suspiciously for a few moments before finally seeming to believe me. Her face changed into one of thought. "What are we going to do, Dan? I don't know how to go about this! Tom-" I cut her off once more.

"Whatever happens Carrie, Tom **can't** know!"

"Know what?" Tom walked in, stowing his phone into his pocket.

I think Carrie and I both stopped breathing.

_Fuck! What do I say?_

Carrie stuttered, trying to figure out something acceptable. "Uh, umm, well…"

"What we have planned for your birthday, mate!" I suddenly burst out, trying to sound cheerful and unbothered. Tom gave me a bemused look. "You have way too much time on your hands if you're already planning my birthday, mate. It's barely January! Write some more songs or something." He smirked at me fondly and shook his head. "Weirdo," he muttered, turning to his studio.

I looked at Carrie, who looked somewhat relieved by my small fable.

The three of us stood there silently; Tom was arranging things on his desk while Carrie and I were silently arguing behind him. She suddenly gave her curly head a sharp shake of finality and looked at Tom's back. "I'm gonna go call Em and see when she's coming over. She wasn't feeling the best earlier." Carrie glanced at me briefly, ignoring my silent pleas.

Tom's head snapped up and he turned around to face us again. "She wasn't feeling well?" he asked, genuine concern in his eyes. Carrie shrugged. "She only mentioned it briefly," she said nonchalantly.

Tom whipped his phone out of his pocket and got up from his chair. Carrie's eyes widened; somehow she hadn't expected this. (I totally had. I mean, it's **Tom** and _Emma. _Duh.)

"Wait, what are you doing?" she asked frantically. Tom looked at her like she was crazy. "Calling Emma," he stated matter-of-factly, starting to leave the room again. "Why?" Carrie asked, half indignant, half scared out of her wits. Tom looked at her incredulously. "She's my girlfriend, Carrie! I'll call her whenever I bloody well please!" He huffed, striding out of the room. Carrie ran after him. "Wait, Tom! She's my best mate! Doesn't that count for _something?! _Let me call her instead!"

Her shouts faded as they went further down the hall towards Tom's room. I heard various thumps and shouts along the way. I grinned, knowing they were probably having a sibling wrestling match.

My grin was quickly wiped off of my face when I remembered what I was in for tonight.

**Trouble's a'brewin' methinks ;) **


	19. Just A Few Things

** .gerd. **

So guess what peeps? I had half of Chapter 19 written, and my computer died and erased what I didn't save, which was **ALL OF IT**!

So that means I need to start over on Chapter 19, which really super pisses me off. **BIG SIGH. **Anywho, it IS coming, I'm just a bit pissed off (at myself) at the moment. But it might take me another week to remember what I originally wrote and reconstruct and finish what I can.

**On the bright side...**

****On the other hand, I have something totally exciting to tell you guys!

I'm writing another fic.

I love it so much, it is completely different than anything I've ever written, and I've never read another fic like it. Obvs. I can't tell you what it is about but I **will** reveal the super secret new title!

**The Best Kept Secrets**

I love it :) It won't be up for a bit because I'm still gradually working on it, and also trying to keep Kissing Strangers my main fic.

One more thing...if anybody ever wants to send me a oneshot request, I LOVE doing those! Just PM me, and give me the following info:

Name, favorite (or preferred) McFly guy, and what kind of ending you want (good, bad, or have me choose).

That'll do pig, that'll do.

Haha! Love you guys so much! :)


	20. Chapter 19

**Holy shit I'm so sorry guys! I've had a really horrible week and have been dealing with a lot of things. I'm also working on two stories and a one shot so I've been trying to do them all at once. Soo soo sorry! Also, this chapter is crap and short. I WILL make up for it. Thanks guys, enjoy :) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own McFly or people affiliated with them. I do own Emma and this fic. **

Chapter 19

Emma's POV

I lay on the couch, pondering what to do next about my situation. I was calmer now, having gotten over my fit. I hadn't ever gotten to tell Carrie what the problem was, as she had left rather suddenly to go to Tom's.

Maybe it was best she didn't know. At least for now.

My phone suddenly started vibrating; it was Tom. I automatically started smiling before I answered. "Well hello there," I said softly. No reply. "Tom?" Complete silence. Then-

"EMMA! SHE'S GONE COMPLETELY **MAD!**" I laughed, pulling the phone away from my ear slightly. "Who?" I asked, even though I of course knew the answer. "MY NUTTER OF A SISTER! SHE-" He cut off suddenly, and I could hear him running through the hall, giggling and breathing hard. I couldn't help the grin that was spreading on my face. "What are you all doing?" I asked, my curiosity burning. I could still hear Carrie and someone else in the distant background. "Carrie just suddenly went nuts when I told her I was going to call you! I wanted to make sure you're alright." I frowned. "What do you mean?" I asked, rather confused. "She said you weren't feeling well earlier, so I was making sure you still wanted to come over." I stayed quiet, pondering. Why would Carrie lie to Tom about me not feeling well? Or maybe she was considering my brief mental breakdown as a sign of illness?

I cleared my throat. "No, I'm feeling much better now. I was getting ready to come over in a few minutes," I told him. I heard his sigh of relief. "Great! I can't wait to see you." I smiled to myself. "I can't wait to see you either," I told him softly. "I'm-"

"HA!" Carrie's voice filled my ears, then Tom yelled loudly. "EMMA!" There was a scuffle, laughter, and some slapping noises. "Ow, OW!" I heard Tom yell. "Get him, Danny!" Carrie yelled. My stomach flipped. _Danny? Oh no. _

I heard more running footsteps and heavy breathing. A door opened and closed, and finally, Carrie returned to the phone. "Emma?" she whispered. "Yes?" I replied, trying not to laugh at her tone of voice. "I hid myself in the closet," she said, and a few giggles burst out. I smiled. "So why are you attacking your brother?" I asked her. She fell silent. "Carrie? What's going on? Why did you tell Tom I was ill? If it has to do with earlier, I'm fine, seriously-" She cut me off. "Stop. It's not that," she said softly. When she didn't reply right away, I asked, "then what is it?" She sighed. "Danny knows." My stomach flipped again. I tried to keep my voice controlled as I asked, "Knows what?"

Carrie huffed impatiently. "Don't. You know exactly what I'm talking about." Fear, anxiety, and a whole array of emotions ran through me. "How did you find out? How did _he _find out?" Carrie took a deep breath. "I showed him the magazine article, and he asked me if I had a better picture of you he could see. Not thinking anything of it, I let him see the one from the party and that one I took of you laughing. He started to act a lot like you did when you saw **his **picture, and I just sort of put two and two together."

I grabbed a handful of my hair in an attempt to keep myself grounded. "Oh shit," I mumbled. "Oh shit doesn't even cover half of it!" she said rather loudly. "Shhh!" I half giggled at her. "They'll find you." She whisper-giggled. "Oops." I was quiet for a moment. "What the hell are we going to do, Carrie?" "I've no idea!" she whispered frantically. "That's why I told Tom you were ill! Then he got this brilliant idea to call you and I panicked and attacked him!" I laughed. "Why would you think he **wouldn't **call me?" I asked. I could practically hear her shrugging on the other line. "I dunno honestly. Danny kept telling me not to but-" She suddenly cut off. I furrowed my brow. "What? What is it? Are you alright? Wha-" "Shhhh!" she whispered abruptly. I heard footsteps coming closer. "Shit," she whispered. "I think they found me!" She got quiet.

I could hear her ragged breathing. I waited patiently.

And waited some more.

And a little more.

Until-

"Aargh!" Carrie screamed loudly in my ear. I pulled the phone slightly away. "Gotcha!" I heard Tom shout. "Aargh! Tom! NO! Danny! HELP ME! DAN-!"

I laughed again hearing the commotion.

"DANNY! YOU TRAITOR! NOOO!" Carrie's screaming voice faded away slightly.

"Hello gorgeous," a sexy voice said. I grinned instantly. "Well hello yourself," I replied. Tom chuckled. "So Danny hijacked your sister?" I asked after a beat, trying to keep the slight tremor out of my voice when I said his name.

Tom chuckled again. "Yeah. He finally took my side after some persuasion." I laughed. "How exactly did you persuade him?" "I told him I'd give him a swift kick in the nuts if he didn't," he said laughing. I mock-gasped. "Oh Tom! You wouldn't!" I said dramatically. He continued laughing. "No way, but he knew I was going to punch him or something. Plus I just think he likes picking on Carrie." I giggled. "Who doesn't?"

He didn't reply, and we fell into a small comfortable silence. "So how are you feeling?" he asked softly. "Better," I said without missing a beat. "You're definitely coming then?" I could hear the nervousness in his voice. "Of course I am! I wouldn't miss **another **opportunity to meet your mates." I could hear his smile.

"Great. I can't wait to see you." I smiled. "I'll be there in a few minutes." "Hurry," he replied. I laughed at his impatience. "Leaving now," I promised, walking to the kitchen counter for my keys and bag. "Great, I'm so-" "HA!" I heard Carrie scream. "Aah!" Tom shouted. I laughed, knowing she must've got him back. "EMMA! HURRY! YOU MUST SAVE-" The phone suddenly hung up. I stared at it for a moment before laying it back on the counter with a grin. I laid my hands on my keys, thinking about what I could be in for tonight.

Would Danny give me away? I doubted it, but at the same time I wondered if I should do it and just get the misunderstanding (if that is what it was) out of the way. Tom would surely understand.

I nodded to myself noncommittally, not making any decisions just yet. I'd know when I got there.


	21. Chapter 20

**YAYYY! I updated twice in a week! Unheard of, right? I'm so stoked. I really love this chapter guys! Anywho, let me know what you think! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own McFly or anyone affiliated with them. I do own Emma and this fic.**

Chapter 20

Emma's POV

I arrive at Tom's flat 20 minutes after our phone call (if you could even call it that). Carrie answered the door before I even reached it. Her deep brown eyes were huge and very funny to look at.

I giggled at her expression. "What?" I asked. "We're in for it tonight," she warned. "I think I can handle it," I said confidently. I quirked an eyebrow at her. "I'll need my partner in crime though." She laughed and looped her arm through mine. "Of course my love." She led me into Tom's house, which was full of mostly male laughter. Carrie smiled at me. "They're all in the kitchen. Come meet everyone."

My stomach flipped nervously. The moment was finally here.

"Tom!" Carrie called. "Emma is here!" The kitchen went quiet, and I heard soft whispers.

_Oh no. They're going to hate me._

Carrie winked at me, mouthed "_It'll be ok!"_ and walked into the kitchen.

Tom came out into the foyer to greet me. He gave me a huge smile and swooped in on me. I laughed as he took me into a huge hug. "You act as if we haven't seen each other in ages!" I exclaimed. He chuckled. "Well, it _has _been a whole **day**!" I threw my arms around his neck. "That it has," I said softly, kissing him. He deepened the kiss. "Mmm," I hummed contentedly.

"Hey!" Harry called suddenly from the kitchen, effectively breaking us apart. "We can hear you two snogging all the way in here! Why don't you save that for later and make an appearance!" Tom and I took one look at each other before bursting into a fit of giggles, each of us turning crimson.

"Come on," he said after we both finally calmed down, grabbing my hand. I gave his a light squeeze and he returned it with a reassuring smile.

I walked into the kitchen behind him, though we were still attached. He tugged me in slightly. I smiled and turned to the people within the room, surrounding the island in the center. My eyes first latched onto Carrie, who beamed at me. I moved from her to Harry and Izzy, who each nodded at me and gave a knowing smile, making me blush again

On the other side of the island stood who I knew to be Dougie from the pictures Carrie had showed me. He gave me the same cheeky grin he'd given the paparazzi and held a hand out to shake. "Nice to finally meet you, Emma," he said sweetly. I grinned, liking him instantly. "Thank you Dougie. So nice to meet you as well." His grin remained. "Red is a good color on you." I looked down at myself; I was wearing a cream sweater, a black skirt that reached just above my knees, and black sweater leggings. There was no red anywhere in my outfit.

I looked up, confused, to see everyone smiling broadly at me, like they all had a secret, Tom included. I blushed furiously, hating being the center of attention. Dougie grinned at me again. "There's your red, love," he said cheekily, touching my face for a split second. I found myself smiling even though the embarrassment felt as though it would suffocate me. Tom slipped an arm around me. "You can smack Doug, it's alright. Everyone does. He's a cheeky little bastard." Everyone laughed and nodded. Dougie shrugged. "'Tis true," he said with an exaggerated sigh. I laughed and Tom turned me slightly to the right.

"Right. And last but not least, Emma, this is my other bandmate Danny." Tom pointed to a man standing in the background.

The man stepped forward, and Danny was suddenly before me. Even though I had made sure to be prepared, I reminded myself not to gasp.

I'd known, **of course **I'd known who to expect. But still, it **still **surprised me to see him in front of me. I noticed his eyes were opened wider than what should be considered normal, and his chest was moving slightly heavier than it should be.

I recovered myself rather quickly and held out my hand for him to take. We both looked at each other directly in the eyes as he took my hand.

His blue eyes were like deep oceans that I was falling headfirst into. The electricity that I'd felt at the party and café was now moving through us once again. I saw him stiffen as he felt it too.

In that moment, time stopped. It was just me and him, no one else. I swore if I opened my mouth right now butterflies would fly out, finally leaving the stomach they were currently occupying.

His face held a whole new world of expressions.

I saw anxiety, anger, and even grief spread over his face in a matter of milliseconds. Another expression was there that I wasn't quite sure of…longing?

I swallowed, and time suddenly sped up again. His eyes never once left mine.

"Nice to meet you," I said quietly. I looked away from him and pulled my hand out of his, finally breaking our contact.

I suddenly realized that everyone in the room had been holding their breath at our meeting.

Dougie let his out roughly. "Well…that was…super awkward. Who's ready to eat?" Everyone broke apart and started filling their plates.

"Are you alright?" Tom whispered in my ear, slipping an arm around my waist. I nodded but didn't say anything; I was afraid of what would come out.

Everyone simply assumed that the meeting between Danny and me had been strange because of his dislike for me and my fear of that dislike. Of course they were all wrong, but only Carrie, Danny and I knew the truth.

I sighed to myself and went to make a plate with everyone else.

The night was filled with food, wine, and too much laughter.

The McFly boys and Carrie told me loads of stories about tour and being in a band, but mostly, they told me stories about Tom.

Danny's raucous laughter was contagious as he told us about a time they went to Italy for a couple of days together when they first formed McFly.

"Tom told me, rather pompously I might add, that he knew a little Italian, and we wouldn't need a translator." He paused to give Tom an amused glance. Tom returned his smile with a playful scowl.

Danny's eyes went back to everyone else at the table, occasionally locking on my own. "So, we're having lunch at this really nice restaurant one day, and Tom says something to this waitress in Italian." He paused to laugh for a few moments, as everyone was already giggling as well. "So, he told me he thought he was asking her about something on the menu, but in reality, he told her that she had a huge arse and would she like to have a shag?" The room erupted into laughter, with Harry applauding Tom. Tom laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "What can I say? I was 17! I never even thought to ask her if she spoke English, which of course she did. I just thought I'd be impressive with my Italian skills." We all shook with laughter.

I caught myself watching Danny laugh, and found to my surprise that he was surreptitiously watching me too. Our eyes locked again for a split second, and I wondered briefly what it would be like to kiss him now that we weren't strangers…

Tom put his hand on mine, startling me out of my forbidden thoughts.

_I can't afford to think like this, _I remembered. I wanted Tom. That was what I was absolutely sure of.

He turned to me, his face still shining with laughter. I grinned back at him. "Are you having a good time?" He asked sweetly. I nodded. "A wonderful time, love. Thank you for inviting me over." He smiled and leaned in for a kiss.

For one strange, split second, I hesitated. Luckily, it wasn't enough for Tom to notice.

Unfortunately, someone else noticed the tender kiss that was planted on my lips.

I could feel Danny's eyes burning through me, and I actually felt _guilty _kissing my boyfriend in front of him!

I broke away softly, not making it too obvious. Tom put his hand on my cheek, his beautiful brown eyes turning to melted chocolate. I smiled softly at him, but all the while I did wonder:

Would I rather swim in an ocean, or have sweet chocolate rivers?

My heart pounded painfully, and I silently cursed Danny for coming up to me at that party. This was completely his fault.

I sighed, knowing that wasn't the truth. It wasn't _completely _his fault. I'd definitely done my part too.

Tom frowned at me, bringing me back to Earth once more. "Are you ok?" he asked. I nodded quickly to reassure him. "I'm just getting a little tired," I said. On perfect cue, I yawned widely.

"Someone's ready for bed," Dougie said with a wicked smirk. Before I could stop myself, I felt my cheeks burning. "Oh that wine is certainly helping that beautiful red come out more," he continued. "You should have wine more often, babe." I grinned at him. "You are a wicked little monkey, Doug." He shrugged, getting out of his chair. "Like I haven't heard **that **before." We all laughed again, but I noticed more yawns going around the table.

"You mustn't do that again, Emma!" Izzy scolded playfully. "Haven't you heard that yawning is contagious?" I laughed as she and Harry stood up too. "Sorry 'bout that Iz. I'll keep that in mind next time." She smiled. "You better!"

Harry and Dougie went to the closet to get theirs and Izzy's coat. "You guys leaving already?" Tom asked lazily, stretching in his chair. "Yeah, we better. I can't have any more wine or we will never make it home," Harry said with a laugh. "You leaving too, Dan?" Dougie asked Danny. Danny shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll stick around a bit longer," he replied, avoiding my eyes.

I groaned inwardly to myself. _Damn!_

Carrie and I shared a secret glance with each other. She raised her eyebrow slightly. "I need to go to the loo," she suddenly announced. Tom laughed slightly. "Well thank you for that important announcement. You know where the toilets are." She nodded. "I need Emma's help with something," she said, addressing me informally. Dougie and Harry 'ooohed' and 'aaahhhed' with immature giggling at the prospect of Carrie and myself going to the loo together. "Oh get off it," I said with a grin, getting out of my chair. "Girls go to the loo together all the time."

"Right," Dougie said with a quirked eyebrow. "I'm not saying they don't. I'm just saying, Tom, maybe you should watch your sister and girlfriend together from now on. They could be cheating on you with each other." Tom, Carrie and I all rolled our eyes, effectively ignoring Dougie's cheeky comments. "Well it was lovely to meet you, Doug," I said, giving him a hug. He returned the hug by picking me up off of my feet. I squealed. "Lovely to meet you too, Emma. I think I might enjoy your company. I'm not sure yet. You're on probationary status." I giggled. "Right. Thanks for that." He replied with his signature cheeky grin. Izzy embraced me tightly. "So good to see you again, Emma! You, me, and Carrie will have to go out for a ladies day soon!" I nodded. "I'd love that, thanks!"

I hugged Harry last. "Fun night, Emma. Make sure Tom stays out of trouble." I winked at him. "I'll do my best."

Tom walked the three of them to the door to say goodbye. Without a word, Carrie grabbed my hand and led me to the nearest bathroom.

She shut the door quickly behind us and locked it. "Oh my god," I said without preamble. "Why the fuck is he staying?" I asked frantically, pacing for a minute before finally sitting on the toilet seat. Carrie shook her curly head. "I have no clue! But if you were thinking of staying the night, which, just for the record, is gross, I don't think you should now. Danny's been known to stay over after parties. He only lives a couple doors down with Dougie in a double flat, but he likes hanging out here with Tom." I put my head in my hands. "I was doing so well!" I groaned. "I know!" Carrie said miserably. "I really thought we might pull this off!" I looked up at her.

"What do we do now?" I asked. She shook her head. "I've no idea."


	22. Chapter 21

**Oh holy crap! I'M SO SORRY! I haven't forgotten you guys I promise! I'd never abandon you! Here's the scoop. So my mom's fiancee suddenly announces that he doesn't love her anymore, that he's moving back to his hometown, and that we need to find a new place to live in a month. WTF?! So yeah, I had that to deal with. THEN. My boyfriend and I had been together for over a year, and he was STILL hesitant to tell his friends that I was his girlfriend (I know, why would I put up with that crap? Because I'm a damn sucker is why). So anyway, we decided to break up for a little bit until he got his act together. It was this big beautiful emotional breakup, he even cried, kissed me goodbye, and wouldn't let go of my hand. I find out less than three weeks later that he's dating his best friend, whom he'd denied having feelings for. And on top of THAT, he cheated on me with her. I found out on Facebook, two days after my mom moved away to a different state where my family is. So yeah, it's been kind of a shitty time for me. I'm so sorry guys! I can't tell you what kind of state I was in. My emotional rollercoaster was at a standstill at absolute sadness and depression. I'm much better now! Sorry for my little rant here, but I felt like you guys needed the real reason and not a bullshit excuse. My heart is broken, simple as that. But I feel like writing is a sort of therapy. The problem is, not all of the writing I did was very suitable for my fics, lol. Anyway, without any further ado, here's the next chapter! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own McFly or anyone associated with them.**

Chapter 21

"Ok, so maybe we should just leave," I suggested. Carrie nodded. "I think you're right. Best plan of action."

We left the loo, both of us shooting nervous glances at the other. Tom and Danny had moved into the sitting room and were currently watching TV.

"Wanna play a round of FIFA?" Danny asked Tom quietly as we crept up behind them. Tom thought for a minute. "Yeah, sure. I don't wanna bore Emma, though." I smiled to myself and Carrie shot me a quick grin and made a gesture towards the boys, who still hadn't noticed us. I nodded, understanding her plan. She mouthed "1, 2, 3, go!"

"AAHHH!" We both shouted. The two grown men jumped at least 5 feet into the air, both reaching to clutch each other. Carrie and I burst into a fit of giggles. "Now that was just ridiculous!" I said in between laughter. Tom scowled playfully at me, releasing Danny from his deathgrip. "That wasn't very nice," he pouted adorably. I grinned at him. "Terribly sorry," I said sarcastically, sitting next to him. He put an arm around me. "I'll get you back when you least expect it," he said tauntingly. I raised an eyebrow. "Sure you will," I said with a small giggle. Carrie shot me a glance; we had to leave soon. I briefly looked at Danny.

He was very pointedly keeping his eyes on the television. "You're unusually quiet, Dan," Tom said, noticing his attitude as well. Danny just shrugged, still not looking at anyone.

Tom looked at me, and I saw the apology in his eyes. I shook my head, dismissing it. I looked at Carrie, both of us wordlessly agreeing that it was time to go.

I reluctantly took myself away from Tom, standing up as Carrie did so too. "We need to go," I told him, trying to keep the slight sadness away from my voice.

He nodded. "I'll walk you to the door." Carrie and I got on our coats, bundling for the cold weather outside. "Bye Danny!" Carrie said cheerfully. He waved half-heartedly from the sofa, still not looking our way. "Nice to meet you," I said quietly. I didn't even bother to look at him, knowing he would still be trying to ignore me.

But he surprised me as he replied. "Nice to meet you too, Emma." I looked at him then, and our eyes locked. The mixture of emotions I'd seen before was still there. I broke contact first and looked for Tom, who was talking to Carrie about their ill Uncle.

"…if he'd quit smoking those damn cigarettes!" I heard him say exasperatedly. I grinned to myself and glanced at Danny once more, his face turned again to the TV, and saw his mouth was slightly lifted in a small smile.

I knew that one day we'd have to talk about the situation we were in, one on one. But for now, I had to let it go and let it be what it was. I couldn't possibly tell Tom until I knew exactly what to say. I had to just hope he'd understand when the time came.

I walked slowly to the door, trying to make all of the commotion in my head stop.

Carrie spoke to me then, breaking my thought processes. "I'm going to get the car warmed up. Don't take too long," she ended with a wink.

I rolled my eyes but still felt a blush creep into my cheeks. Tom grinned at me and slowly pulled me towards him by my waist. I smirked as he wrapped his arms around me. "I'm sorry I can't stay," I said softly. "Mm, me too," he replied, nuzzling my neck with his nose. I giggled, my neck being my ticklish spot. "I am really sorry, though," he said seriously, frowning. He glanced around the corner for a moment to make sure we weren't in ear shot of Danny. He sighed. "Dan is just going through a tough time right now. He and his longtime girlfriend just broke up recently, and he's just had a lot on his mind. He's also been obsessing over this girl he met at the New Year's Eve party, so I think everything is getting to be a bit much for him." I gulped, thankful Tom had turned again to check that Danny hadn't heard him.

I was composed as he looked back at me. I simply shrugged. "It's alright. I knew he didn't really like me anyway," I said with a dismissive grin. Tom shook his head. "No, that's no excuse. I'm going to talk to him about it. I won't have him treating you like that." I felt my throat close temporarily; would the truth come out in that conversation? Would Tom possibly hurt Danny? Or the other way around?

Tom giggled, studying my face. "What?" I asked rather hoarsely. "Don't look so scared about it!" he said, still grinning. "Dan is one of my best mates, it'll be fine," he reassured me. I nodded noncommittally.

"Alright then," I said grudgingly, pulling him to me for a last kiss.

Tom thrust his hands into my hair, holding my face to his and kissed me fiercely. My mouth opened as I gasped in shock, not expecting such passion. His tongue covered mine, tangling together in a complicated dance. I clutched him to me until he finally broke away, both of us breathing heavily. I looked at his face, and noticed him blushing madly, but grinning so big all the same. I smiled at him shyly, still not over the shock of our wonderful moment.

"Now that'll give you something else to think about," he said cheekily, leading me out the door with a chaste peck on the cheek and a wink.


End file.
